ABSTRACT
Two centuries ago, no scholar seemed to have felt the need to prove the relevance of philosophy to social studies nor, indeed, to any other field of inquiry. By the mid-nineteenth century, philosophy had lost its grip on social studies, psychology, and linguistics, and had moved far away from natural science and mathematics. Philosophy can contribute to the advancement of sociology by identifying problems, analyzing and refining approaches, elucidating general concepts, unearthing presuppositions, analyzing and organizing theories, evaluating tests, encouraging interdisciplinary connections, and debunking pseudoscientific and antiscientific tendencies. Philosophers are supposed to have a knack for seeing problems where others do not. Hence, they may help social scientists identify new problems, cast doubts on accepted solutions, or even suggest approaching in new ways old but unsolved problems. Philosophers, like mathematicians, specialize in general ideas. Philosophers of social science may contribute to restoring the balance between empirical and theoretical research, thus helping to avoid mindless data-gathering as well as wild speculation.
