Study Questions for Taylor

  1. What is the aim of interpretation?
  2. What are the conditions of (a science of) interpretation?
  3. How does one recognize a "good" interpretation?
  4. What is the hermeneutical circle? How can it be broken (or not)?
  5. What are brute data? Why are they important?
  6. What does mainstream science miss in understanding humans?
  7. What is the meaning of "meaning"?
  8. Why is it important to understand a person's motivation?
  9. What important matter does (behavioral) political science omit?
  10. Why can we not distinguish between social reality and the language description of social reality?
  11. What is an inter-subjective meaning? How does it differ from consensus? from common meaning?
  12. What example of a common meaning is given by Taylor for the United States? Do you agree?
  13. Why does mainstream political science miss inter-subjective and common meanings?
  14. What is required for a mainstream science of comparative politics? What does this omit?
  15. What is wrong with the mainstream political science approach to legitimacy?
  16. Taylor argues something besides legitimacy helps explains stability. What is it? Why does mainstream political science miss it?
  17. Why doesn't mainstream political science explain or predict alienation? How does hermeneutical science do it?
  18. How does Taylor propose to explain alienation?
  19. What should political science study?
  20. How can we formalize hermeneutical science?
  21. How does one show or convince that one hermeneutic theory is better than another?
  22. What are two rampant illusions in present society?
  23. Why is prediction impossible?
  24. Does Taylor value explanation or understanding?
  25. Is Taylor an individualist or holist?
  26. Is Taylor a naturalist or interpretivist?

Things to look for/keep in mind for future readings:

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