Foundations and Practice of Research

Many of the issues on which meaningful research is founded are seldom discussed; for example, the role of everyday experience, diversity and coherence of meaning in the world, the meaningfulness and wider mandate of research, the very nature and validity of theoretical thought, and the deep presuppositions of philosophy and how they undermine the success of research. Such questions are material to the philosophies that guide research thinking in all fields, and since they cannot be satisfactorily addressed in a piecemeal fashion, this book employs the radically different philosophy of Herman Dooyeweerd to consider them together. Parts I and II discuss these issues theoretically and philosophically, while Part III discusses them practically, specifically the adventures that researchers across the world have had using Dooyeweerd's philosophy. Foundations and Practice of Research assembles a wide range of experiences of using Dooyeweerd's philosophy in research in the fields of mathematics, the natural sciences, the social sciences, design sciences and the humanities. Case studies demonstrate how Dooyeweerd's philosophy has been found fruitful in most stages of research, and the philosophical discussion backs this up. This book challenges researchers to join the adventures, including suggestions of potential research that could be carried out, as well as questions still left unanswered.