Epistemology of the Human Sciences

“Weimer is a polymath. His writings range over disparate domains including induction, psychology, epistemology, economics, and mensuration theory. This volume should be essential reading for anyone concerned about the nature of the sciences.” – Neil P. Young, Clinical and Experimental psychologist. “Knowing the mind is infinitely more challenging than knowing the objects studied by the physical sciences. Weimer's book rises to the challenge, thoroughly reviewing the strengths and shortcomings of both famous and forgotten thinkers such as Bühler, Hayek, Popper, and von Neumann to identify key issues for an evolutionary epistemology.” – John A. Johnson, Professor Emeritus of Psychology, Penn State University This book argues for evolutionary epistemology and distinguishing functionality from physicality in the social sciences. It explores the implications for this approach to understanding in biology, economics, psychologyand political science. Presenting a comprehensive overview of philosophical topics in the social sciences, the book emphasizes how all human cognition and behavior is characterized by functionality and complexity, and thus cannot be explained by the point predictions and exact laws found in the physical sciences. Realms of functional complexity – such as the market order in economics, the social rules of conduct, and the human CNS – require a focus on explanations of the principles involved rather than predicting exact outcomes. This requires study of the historical context to understand behavior and cognition. This approach notes that functional complexity is central to classical liberal ideas such as division of labour and knowledge, and how this is a far more powerful and adequate account of social organization than central planning. Through comparison of these approaches, as well as its interdisciplinary scope, this book will interest both academics and students in philosophy, biology, economics, psychology and all other social sciences. Walter B. Weimer is Emeritus Professor of Psychology and Philosophy at the Pennsylvania State University, USA. His other books in the Palgrave Studies in Classical Liberalism series are the two volumes of Retrieving Liberalism from Rationalist Constructivism.