Plausible Worlds
Possibility and Understanding in History and the Social Sciences
Seiten
1993
Cambridge University Press (Verlag)
978-0-521-45776-7 (ISBN)
Cambridge University Press (Verlag)
978-0-521-45776-7 (ISBN)
This widely acclaimed account of the role of counterfactuals in explanation deploys extended examples from both history and modern times. Its conclusions cast doubt on existing assumptions about the nature and place of theory, and indeed of the possibility of knowledge itself, in the human sciences.
Possibilities haunt history. The force of our explanations of events turns on the alternative possibilities these explanations suggest. It is these possible worlds which give us our understanding; and in human affairs we decide them by practical rather than theoretical judgement. In his widely acclaimed account of the role of counterfactuals in explanation, Geoffrey Hawthorn deploys extended examples from history and modern times to defend his argument. His conclusions cast doubt on existing assumptions about the nature and place of theory, and indeed of the possibility of knowledge itself, in the human sciences.
Possibilities haunt history. The force of our explanations of events turns on the alternative possibilities these explanations suggest. It is these possible worlds which give us our understanding; and in human affairs we decide them by practical rather than theoretical judgement. In his widely acclaimed account of the role of counterfactuals in explanation, Geoffrey Hawthorn deploys extended examples from history and modern times to defend his argument. His conclusions cast doubt on existing assumptions about the nature and place of theory, and indeed of the possibility of knowledge itself, in the human sciences.
1. Counterfactuals, explanation and understanding; 2. Plague and fertility in early modern Europe; 3. The United States in South Korea; 4. Duccio's painting; 5. Explanation, understanding and theory.
| Erscheint lt. Verlag | 18.11.1993 |
|---|---|
| Zusatzinfo | Worked examples or Exercises |
| Verlagsort | Cambridge |
| Sprache | englisch |
| Maße | 136 x 216 mm |
| Gewicht | 227 g |
| Themenwelt | Geisteswissenschaften ► Geschichte ► Geschichtstheorie / Historik |
| Geisteswissenschaften ► Philosophie | |
| ISBN-10 | 0-521-45776-9 / 0521457769 |
| ISBN-13 | 978-0-521-45776-7 / 9780521457767 |
| Zustand | Neuware |
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