Social Research Realistic Goal-setting, with Regard to Islamic Values and Social Context

Among the requisites of defending the “idea of Islamic social sciences” is introduction of a model for social research. However, it has certain difficulties. On the one hand, given the background of religious science among Muslim and Christian thinkers, some of the solutions and approaches to the idea of Islamic humanities is relativistic and, on the other hand, realistic goal-setting in social research is among the requisites of modeling in Islamic social sciences. The objectives of social research are classified into three categories: 1. Finding the causes and explanation; 2.Finding the meanings and interpretation; and 3. Evaluation and criticism. The present paper is an attempt to find out if a realistic model for social research can be offered for explanation, interpretation and criticism. Are realistic goals not compatible with some of these fields? Providing answers to these questions requires adoption of a strategy and viewpoint about content of “epistemic realism” and its relation with “realistic commitment in science”. Since this paper is limited to frameworks of Islamic philosophy, in studying the possibility of offering a realistic model in social sciences, attempts have been made to study the relationship between scientific realism with realism in the light of Islamic philosophy.