Interpreting Politics

In the past decade or so an increasing number of political and social theorists have argued that political inquiry and the social sciences in general are fundamentally interpretive or hermeneutic sciences. The readings collected in this volume, by such figures as Peter Winch, Charles Taylor, Clifford Geertz, Jurgen Habermas and Richard Rorty, represent various aspects of the critical-interpretive approach to the study of political and social life at the levels of the philosophy of political inquiry, substantive political theory, and the practice of politics. They clarify the themes of critical interpretation as well as presenting debates between interpretation and its critics. This book is aimed at undergraduate students in politics, sociology and philosophy.