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Response 2: Social Science as Phronesis? The Potential Contradictions of a Phronetic Social Policy

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  03 June 2010

TONY FITZPATRICK
TONY FITZPATRICK*
Affiliation:
School of Sociology & Social Policy, University of Nottingham, Nottingham NG7 2RD email: Tony.Fitzpatrick@nottingham.ac.uk
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Extract

Paul Spicker's article has provided a thought-provoking contribution to which I am broadly sympathetic. I have two principal concerns, however. Firstly, it fails to contextualise itself vis-à-vis some key debates. Secondly, therefore, it neglects to ask some crucial philosophical and methodological questions. As such, researchers should pause before embracing a phronetic social policy. Below, I specify the nature of my concerns, paying particular attention to the implications of phronesis for universalism. My aim is not to critique Spicker's entire article, but to draw attention to key issues to which those interested in phronetic approaches should attend.

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Articles
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Journal of Social Policy , Volume 40 , Issue 1 , January 2011 , pp. 31 - 39
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2010

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