Measuring the intentional world : realism, naturalism, and quantitative methods in the behavioral sciences /

Trout, J. D.,

Measuring the intentional world : realism, naturalism, and quantitative methods in the behavioral sciences / Measuring the intentional world : Realism, naturalism, and quantitative methods in the behavioural sciences J.D. Trout. - xiii, 287 pages ; 25 cm

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Introduction: Realism and Naturalism in the Philosophy of Science -- Measurement as Population-Guided Estimation -- Realism: Minimal and Robust -- Measured Realism -- Statistical Designs as Instruments -- Statistical Testing and the World's Contribution to Rationality -- Diverse Tests on an Independent World -- Failed Attempts: The Frailties of Narrative Methods -- Conclusion -- References -- Index. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9.

"Scientific realism has been advanced as an interpretation of the natural sciences but never the behavioral sciences. Using as evidence the advances in the psychological and social sciences over the last 100 years, J.D. Trout develops a novel version of realism - Measured Realism - required to characterize a form of theoretical progress in the behavioral sciences that is uneven but indisputable."--BOOK JACKET. "Assimilating estimation to a familiar epistemic category, Measuring the Intentional World proposes an innovative theory of measurement - Population-Guided Estimation - that connects natural, psychological, and social scientific inquiry. The philosophical defense of this naturalism requires a pattern of reasoning no stronger or more controversial than that used by scientists themselves. The role of Population-Guided Estimation is then illustrated in disputes about the methodological reliability of narrative psychoanalysis, narrative history, significance testing, triangulation, and deference to experts."--BOOK JACKET. "Presenting quantitative methods in the behavioral sciences as at once successful and regulated by the world, Measuring the Intentional World will engage philosophers of science, and scientists interested in the foundations of their own disciplines."--Jacket.

0195107667 9780195107661

96040149


Psychology--Statistical methods
Social sciences--Statistical methods.
Realism
Psychometrics.

BF39 / .T76 1998

300.1

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