ABSTRACT
This book is a defence of the social sciences against some of the relativist trends which have pervaded social thought. It will be of interest to anyone concerned with the main philosophical debates on the methodology of the social sciences, even though it is particularly directed to sociologists. This defence assumes the form of a critical reflection on the work of the French sociologist Raymond Boudon, informed by some of the contributions which critical realism has brought from philosophy into social theory and research.
