So Much to Say: Response to Commentators

Abstract

This article responds to the comments on my book The Philosophy and Methods of Political Science. It clarifies my attitudes to isms, explains why I do not think causal explanation is the only type of scientific explanation and suggests that type-level explanation of background structural conditions is explanatory although not what we ordinarily think of as causal explanations; in doing so, it defends formal models. It clarifies what I mean by prediction and why this is necessary, although not sufficient for explanation, and discusses the relationship of type and token explanation to large- and small-N research. It also discusses bias, case selection, big data, the qualitative-quantitative distinction and replicability. It concludes by arguing that interpretative approaches are spot on when they claim that the nature of language is important for understanding society but only over looped terms and not all scientific discourse. Show more