What Are Postpositivist Theories of History?

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  In Refereed Roundtable (60 minute): Table 4. Metatheoretic Considerations

Abstract

Karl Popper’s falsificationism has effectively pushed this titular question out of sociology. However, during the last three decades, sociologists have moved beyond the critical rationalist framework nesting Popper’s falsificationism. We no longer deductively search for laws and have also rejected his residual dualism between interpretations and matters of fact. However, we still struggle under the long shadow of Popper’s scientism or rejection of social epistemology. Moving out from under this shadow opens a space to invite the question of theories of history back in, albeit in a new light. Answering this paper’s question helps us to confront an undertheorized problem on the horizon of postpositivist sociology: the centrality of problematics or the problem of causal depth.

Author

• Paul David Erb, University of California-Riverside