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| Daniel Little | |
|---|---|
| Name | Daniel Little |
| Birth date | 1949 |
| Birth place | United States |
| Occupation | Philosopher, Social Scientist, Author |
| Alma mater | University of Michigan, Harvard University |
| Notable works | Philosophy of Social Science, Varieties of Social Explanation |
Daniel Little is an American philosopher and social scientist known for his work on the philosophy of social science, social theory, and the history of social thought. He has held academic posts combining philosophy, sociology, and public policy, and has written extensively on causation, explanation, modernization, and comparative social systems. Little's work bridges analytic philosophy with empirical social inquiry, engaging debates involving figures such as Karl Popper, Max Weber, Émile Durkheim, John Stuart Mill, and Adam Smith.
Little was born in the United States in 1949 and completed undergraduate and graduate studies that combined interests in philosophy, history, and political science. He undertook doctoral work at Harvard University where he engaged with scholars connected to analytic traditions and the history of ideas, drawing on the legacies of Ludwig Wittgenstein and Wilfrid Sellars. His intellectual formation was also shaped by study at the University of Michigan and exposure to debates associated with Princeton University and the University of Chicago sociological traditions. During his formative years he developed an enduring interest in the comparative study of modernization and development as framed by thinkers like Max Weber and policy institutions such as the World Bank.
Little has held faculty positions that span philosophy, sociology, and public policy. He served on the faculty at University of Michigan and later at institutions with programs in public policy and interdisciplinary social inquiry, engaging with centers connected to Harvard Kennedy School-style policy scholarship and research institutes comparable to RAND Corporation in orientation. His teaching has covered courses on the philosophy of social science, the history of social and political thought, and methods of causal inference, intersecting with curricula at universities such as Yale University and Columbia University. Little has supervised doctoral research interacting with scholars across departments influenced by traditions from Chicago School sociology to analytic philosophy rooted in Oxford University debates.
Little's research addresses the nature of social explanation, causation in the social realm, and the methods appropriate for comparative and historical social inquiry. He has argued for a model of causal explanation attentive to mechanisms and historical processes, engaging with the work of Peter Abell, John Maynard Keynes, and methodological approaches advanced by Nancy Cartwright and Judea Pearl. His interpretations of development and modernization synthesize ideas from Talcott Parsons, Karl Marx, and Joseph Schumpeter, while critiquing teleological readings associated with linear modernization theories advanced in the mid-20th century by organizations such as the United Nations and researchers linked to the International Monetary Fund. Little has contributed to debates about social ontology by analyzing collective action, institutions, and emergent properties discussed in relation to Thomas Hobbes and Alexander Hamilton-era federalist thought. He has also written on the historiography of social science, linking episodes involving Alexis de Tocqueville and Max Weber to contemporary policy analysis practiced at institutions like National Bureau of Economic Research.
Little is author or editor of multiple books and articles addressing social explanation, modernization, and comparative politics. Notable works include Philosophy of Social Science and Varieties of Social Explanation, which situate his arguments alongside those of Karl Popper, Imre Lakatos, and Thomas Kuhn. He has published in journals and edited volumes that appear in venues associated with American Philosophical Quarterly, Philosophy of the Social Sciences, and interdisciplinary collections connected to Cambridge University Press and Oxford University Press. His writings engage historical texts by Adam Smith, David Hume, and John Locke while dialoguing with modern analysts such as Amartya Sen and Daron Acemoglu. Little's work on comparative modernization includes case studies and historical narratives referring to transformations in countries analyzed by scholars at Harvard University, Stanford University, and the London School of Economics.
Beyond academia, Little has contributed essays and commentary aimed at policymakers and informed publics, addressing questions relevant to institutions like the World Bank, United Nations Development Programme, and national policy bodies. He has participated in public debates concerning modernization policy, development strategy, and the ethical implications of social science practice, interacting with audiences linked to think tanks such as Brookings Institution and publications associated with The New York Times and The Washington Post. Little has lectured at forums and conferences convened by organizations comparable to the American Philosophical Association and has been cited in policy discussions influenced by economists and social theorists including Paul Krugman and Joseph Stiglitz.
Little's scholarly contributions have been recognized by academic prizes and fellowships from institutions related to his fields, including awards administered by organizations such as the National Endowment for the Humanities and fellowships akin to those from the American Council of Learned Societies. He has received invited appointments and visiting scholar positions at universities and research centers across the United States and Europe, including associations with institutes similar to The Hoover Institution and research fellowships aligned with Fulbright Program exchanges.
Category:American philosophers Category:Philosophers of social science