Practical Knowledge: Applying the Social Sciences

The status of the social sciences as knowledge presents two fundamental problems. The first is epistemological: in what sense is the subject of the social sciences known and knowable? The second is pragmatic: can knowledge generated by the social sciences be applied, and with what consequences? In this book, Nico Stehr offers a major reassessment of the latter question of the utility of social science knowledge, including economics. Arguing for a reconception of the ways in which social scientific knowledge can be and is applied, this book will be of interest to a broad range of social scientists.