The End of Social Science as We Know it | Brian Epstein | TEDxStanford

Philosopher Brian Epstein warns that without significant changes, social sciences as we know it will become irrelevant and obsolete. His research on the metaphysics of the social world lead him to ask fundamental questions such as what are languages, what are banks, or artifacts? Why should we care? Because according to Epstein, asking and answering such questions are the only way we can fix the foundations of social sciences.

Brian Epstein received his doctorate in philosophy from Stanford University, his master's in philosophy from Oxford University, and graduated summa cum laude with an AB in philosophy from Princeton University. Epstein's research interests include philosophy of social science, metaphysics and philosophy of language, focusing in particular on issues in the theory of reference and the ontology of social kinds. He also has interests in conceptual schemes, the philosophy of music and the philosophy of economics. Between degree programs, he worked at a number of technology startups and consulting firms. His interests outside philosophy include music and sound production, hiking and photographing ducks.

Epstein is the author of The Ant Trap: Rebuilding the Foundations of the Social Sciences, Oxford University Press, 2015.

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