Revised edition of the author's The philosophy of social science.

1st edition preface -- 2nd edition preface -- The importance of science and the importance of understanding what science is rationalism and empiricism : science's weak foundations -- Positivism and its problems : seeing is not all there is to believing -- Explanations of social scientific understanding and social scientific understandings of natural scientific explanations -- Hermeneutics and science : "the linguistic turn" -- Feminism and science : a woman's place is the more objective space -- Postmodernism : if you say there are no right or wrong answers and i say you're wrong, am i right : or wrong? -- Islam and science : the stars on a common celestial globe -- Pragmatism and neo-pragmatism : foundations of anti-foundationalism -- Hyperreality and critical realism, simulacra and social science -- Terminology glossary.