Philosophy of social science
NOTE: This page was created for my Philosophy of Economics, Philosophy of Social Science, and Intro to Philosophy courses at the University of Pennsylvania.
In general, while Wikipedia is great, Britannica Online has the advantages of being reviewed by academics and having some fancy features. But you need to consult it on campus, since it's for subscribers. Below you'll find more domain-specific resources.
Philosophy
Some introductions for the newbies:
- Video:
Here are some handy online encyclopedia (like if you want to know how philosophers define "empiricism"):
- Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy: totally free; very detailed, much contemporary stuff, but probably difficult for people without philosophical background
- Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy: totally free; easy and yet informative
- Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy: most needs subscription, so consult on campus; qua difficulty a nice middle way between IEP and REP. Great pedagogy.
If you want to know what philosophy of science is: Philosophy of science entry in Britannica (subscription: consult on campus). Here are some other nice entries: Scientific realism and antirealism in REP.
For entire books etc. check The Internet Archive: All of the philosophy classics are available here. The Internet Archive is an online library with historical collections (text, audio, movie) in digital format - all legal, since they only publish things for which copy rights have expired or have been wavered. Fantastic.
Philosophy of social science
- Philosophy of social science: Entry in Routledge Encyclopedia (subscription: consult on campus). Short entry but with many useful hyperlinks.
- Methodology of social science: REP entry
- History of philosophy of social science: Entry in Routledge Encyclopedia
- Contemporary philosophy of social science: Entry in Routledge Encyclopedia
Economics
Not everybody in class will have the same background. For those who want an introduction to econ, there is plenty of free stuff online.
- Khan Academy: microeconomics, macroeconomics. Khan is GREAT! Free, accessible knowledge at its best. Disadvantage: easy and slow.
- Economists do it with models: econ 101
- Coursera (MOOC): microeconomics
- Free Video Lectures: economics
Reference work: New Palgrave Dictionary of Economics (subscription: consult on campus)
Some nice (top) journals with understandable summaries of today's research:
Philosophy of economics
Some encyclopedia entries on philosophy of economics:
- Philosophy of economics: in Stanford Encyclopedia; Routledge Encyclopedia (subscription: consult on campus); Palgrave Dictionary (subscription: consult on campus)
- Economic methodology: in Palgrave Dictionary
- Ethics and economics: in Palgrave Dictionary
Philosophy of economics journals:
- Economics and Philosophy (subscription: consult on campus)
- Journal of Economic Methodology (subscription: consult on campus)