ABSTRACT
In this chapter, I present positions that are often discussed under the heading of philosophy of social science. The positions are also often termed collectively as continental philosophy. Both the heading and the term might be misleading because the positions, even though they originated in Europe, are used beyond that continent and they do not cover issues that are relevant only for the social sciences. Furthermore, it could be argued that most of the positions are relevant for all sciences.
In the first part of the chapter, Constructivism: thinking at the centre of everything, I argue that modern idealism started with the work of René Descartes. From Descartes, I follow the development of predominantly German idealism from Immanuel Kant via romanticism to Friedrich Hegel.
In the second part of the chapter, Science in the post-Kantian world, I argue that romanticism was a reaction to Kant’s thinking. It also had an influence on Hegel, who initiated existentialism, which in turn inspired Lebensphilosophie and the interpretive position in science developed by the German philosopher Wilhelm Dilthey. In the third part of the chapter, Phenomenology, I argue that the idealist tradition acquired a new philosophical foundation through the work Edmund Husserl.
Phenomenology has a strong standing in science today, not least because many researchers within the humanities and social studies relate to it, but also because it had a tremendous impact on French thinking after World War II, through postmodernism and post-structuralism. The general problem that idealists address today is how a mind-dependent reality can be regarded as objective.
