2nd Edition
Wittgenstein and Society A Social Researcher Philosophises
Part One: Philosophy of Social Science 1. A Structuralist Marxist Meets the Later Wittgenstein (1984) 2. Writing About People (1984) 3. Tangents: Marx, Wittgenstein and Postmodernism (2000) Part Two: Social Science and Philosophy 4. Kenya Book Excerpt (1980) 5. Commentary on Kenya Book Excerpt (2026) 6. Russian Research Excerpts (1998 and 2001) 7. Commentary on Russian Research Excerpts (2026) 8. ‘Football Debate’ Article (2011) 9. Commentary on ‘Football Debate’ Article (2026) Part Three: Reflections: Philosophical and Non-Philosophical 10. A Social ‘Scientist’ and Ludwig Wittgenstein (2026)
Biography
Gavin Kitching is Emeritus Professor of Politics and International Relations at the University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia. He has undertaken field research in East Africa and Russia and has written about the history of football in the UK and Australia. He also has a long-time interest in the philosophy of Ludwig Wittgenstein.
‘This is much more than a second edition. Social scientists and philosophers stand to benefit from the wisdom the author brings to the consideration of empirical research and conceptual elucidation. Kitching’s presence in the book as a real, flesh and blood person constitutes a powerful antidote to the pull of scientism.’
Dr Leonidas Tsilipakos, University of Bristol, UK.
‘…A remarkable, thought-provoking book. It is at once an intellectual autobiography, and an account of the importance of Wittgenstein’s philosophy of language. Its call for the possibility of an ethical, self-reflective approach to studying the human is of vital importance today.’
Professor David Macarthur, The University of Sydney, Australia.
‘Gavin Kitching is unique in being an accomplished Wittgensteinian philosopher and an equally accomplished social scientist (in economics, history, politics, and political anthropology). The second edition of Wittgenstein and Society fits squarely within the Winchian / Wittgensteinian tradition of critical reflection on the very ‘idea of a social science’
Dr Nigel Pleasants, University of Exeter, UK.
