Summary
Contents
“This is a splendid book, providing a readable and reliable guide to a very large range of topics and literature... the author brings together, as few of us can, the details of research methodology and practice with broader philosophical perspectives and approaches.” - William Outhwaite, Emeritus Professor, Newcastle University “We need researchers who are philosophically informed rather than philosophically obsessed or philosophically oppressed. With this book Malcolm Williams strikes the exact balance.” - Ray Pawson, Emeritus Professor, University of Leeds This book is an ideal introduction for any student or social researcher hoping to better understand the philosophical issues that inform social research. Williams is the perfect guide providing short focused introductions to key concepts alongside a persuasive and engaging overview of how we interpret and conduct research. The book covers everything from core research methods, to ethical concerns and an exploration of the metaphysics of social life, with each entry providing: • Clear definitions • Engaging real world examples • Up-do-date suggestions for further reading • Informative cross-referencing • Lists of key thinkers. Relevant and authoritative, this book is an indispensable introduction to the philosophy of social research.
Time
Time
Time is both an objective measure of the relationship between speed and distance, but also structures social relations both in the way it sets ontological limits and in the way it is subjectively experienced.
Idealist and realist approaches to time in philosophy are firstly considered and how the latter relates to conceptions of time in Newtonian and Einsteinian physics. Cultural conceptions of time in archaic and contemporary society are important to the social scientist, because they must take into account the ontological necessity of time in social relations. Finally time is considered as a social category investigated by researchers.
Time is one of the most important philosophical concepts and the way it has been thought about and viewed has influenced literature and science. In ...