This document contains a summary of the lectures given for the subject Introduction to Political Science, which is given during the 4th block of the first year. This subject is mandatory for all first year IRO students at Leiden University. By using this summary you won't have to copy the powerpoin...
, Lecture 2: Epistemology & Ontology
Definition of ontology:
● Most broadly, ontology is the study of what there is, the study of what exists when
you are talking about specific questions about if something exists
● Ontologies are theories of being/ theories of existing
● There is only one truth
● Ontological questions include:
- What is the nature of reality?
- What “really” exists?
- Is there a world ‘out there’ independent of our experiences?
Applied ontological questions:
● Ontological questions don’t have to be abstract. They can be specific too:
- If a tree falls in a forest, and no one is nearby to hear it, does it make a sound?
- Are there numbers? Or are they projections?
● They also don’t need to be philosophical;
- Are there infinitely many twin prime numbers?
- What is that green slime in the fridge?
- Where is love? (Oliver musical)
Social ontology:
● “Questions of social ontology are concerned with the nature of social entities.”
● The central point of orientation.. the question of whether social entities can and
should be considered objective entities that have a reality external to social actors, or
whether they can and should be considered social constructions built up from the
perceptions and actions of social actors.” - Bryman (2016, p. 28)
● He is writing about objectivism and constructivism
● He is writing about foundationalism and anti-foundationalism
(Anti) Foundationalism:
● What are the broad ontological positions in political science described in LMS pp.
182-183?
- Foundationalism/objectivism/realism
● ‘The world is … composed of discrete objects which possess
properties that are independent of the observer’(LMS, p. 182)
● ‘There is a real world which exists independently of our knowledge of
it’ (ibid)
● ‘Causality operates independently of the observer’ (ibid)
● The observer can’t change what happens because there is a specific
way in which the world works/exists (Pool example, balls will move in
the way you think they will)
- Anti-foundationalism/constructivism/relativism
● ‘Realities are local and specific; they vary between individuals/groups’
(LMS, p. 183)
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, ● ‘Reality is not discovered… it is actively constructed’ (ibid)
● Note: this doesn’t mean they think there is no ‘real world’ which is
‘out there’, but rather that it doesn’t matter- this ‘real world’ has no
causal power on social action independent of people’s understanding
of it.
Definition of epistemology:
● Most broadly, epistemology is the study of what we can know
● Epistemologies are theories of knowledge
● Epistemological questions can include:
- What is knowledge?
- How do we gain knowledge of the world?
- Are there boundaries to what we can know?
Applied epistemological questions:
● Epistemological questions don’t have to be abstract. They can be specific too:
- Given that I can only ever observe people’s behavior, how do I know whether
they have minds?
- What distinguishes scientific knowledge from another form of knowledge?
- Can we study social and political phenomena using the scientific method?
- “Will I ever know that sweet hello that’s meant for only me?” (Oliver musical)
‘Scientific’ or positivist approaches:
● The goal of positivist approaches is the formulation of general laws and accurate
predictions.
● Positivist approaches to social science think that the social sciences are analogous to
the natural sciences.
● Social scientists should objectively pursue causal facts that lead to rule-like
generalizations.
Deeper into positivism:
● Direct observation can serve as an independent test of the validity of a theory (LMS,
p. 186)
● Normative and empirical claims and questions can be entirely separated.
● ‘Social scientists who focus on only overt, observable behaviors are missing a lot, but
how are we to know if we cannot see?’ (King, Keohane and Varga, 1994, p. 41)
Critiques of positivism:
● Quine (1961) has made two important critiques:
- The mediation of concepts on sensory experience considers different
languages.
● We can know the direct translation of a term, but we cannot know the
cultural/constructive baggage that concept has.
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