1. The Grammar of Sociology.
- Author
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McGinnis, Robert
- Subjects
SET theory ,SOCIAL science methodology ,SOCIOLOGICAL research ,DATA analysis ,ALGORITHMS - Abstract
The article comments on the applicability of the set theory in sociological research. The author notes that Donal E. Muir's paper "Searching Data for Predictive Variables: A Set-Theoretical Approach" contributes to the improved scientific status of sociology specifically by investigating one of its most ubiquitous and problematic predicates. In doing this, Muir displays the utility of set theory as a primitive but formidable tool for the construction of sociological sentences. The author further points out that set theory is a rich and sophisticated language, with an array of conjunctions with which to build complicated subject and object sets. Above all, it offers a variety of unambiguous predicates with which to build logically meaningful theory, that is, theory that has implications, which can be proven to be true by the rules of deductive logic. The article further reveals that Muir has attacked the basic scientific predicate, cause, and has come up with a useful if not revolutionary algorithm. He has moved toward the improvement of sociological sentence structure.
- Published
- 1969
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