Philosophy of social science concerns the study of logic and method of the social sciences such as sociology, economy, finance, cultural anthropology, among others, and hence, philosophers of social science address what the similarities and differences are between social and natural sciences, while analyzing the causal relationships across different social phenomena, existence of social laws as well as the ontological significance of structure and agency. One of the aims of philosophy of social science is to generate a rational reconstruction of social science, which entails the description of the philosophical assumptions underpinning the practice of social inquiry. This is similar to the philosophy of natural science seeking to lay bare the methodological and ontological norms for guiding scientific investigation of natural phenomena. Another aim of philosophy of social science is provide the critiques pertaining to social sciences so that their ability to explain the social world can be understood. Across these lines, philosophy of social science is considered to be both descriptive and prescriptive, so it brings up interrelated questions such as the methods of social science, differences and similarities between the methods employed by natural sciences, if scientific investigation of the social world is possible or desirable along with the question if social sciences could be value neutral or should they have such striving [Social Science, Philosophy of | Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy. (n.d.)].
The positivism of Comte laid the initial philosophical foundations for formal sociology and social research. As other prominent figures, Durkheim, Marx and Weber are founding representatives of contemporary social science. The positivist perspective is linked with scientism whose view is concerned with the using of the natural sciences’ methods which may well be applied to all areas of inquiry, whether they are philosophical, social scientific, or else. Currently, practitioners of social and physical sciences consider the distorting effect of observer bias and structural limitations, which is a sort of skepticism enabled by a general wearying of deductionist views of science through philosophers such as Thomas Kuhn accompanied by new philosophical movements such as neopragmatism and critical realism. Given the methodological pluralism concept, it can be stated that no single approach to social inquiry can capture all aspects of social reality according to philosophy of social science. Yet, a unification attempt of the social sciences can be conceived by envisioning the variety of methods within an interactional and participating as well as on-going dialogue.
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