edited by Yuk-ying Ho (Hong Kong Shue Yan University, Hong Kong) & Sun-pong Yuen

This volume is the first book-length explication of hermeneutics in social work. It attempts to clarify and reconstruct the moral basis of social work. Against the mainstream current of doing social work with the technical-rational outlook, this book argues that value constitutes the very core of social work. It is with this solid foundation of moral concepts that social work techniques are reconstituted.

This volume seamlessly combines theoretical discussions with empirical studies. It starts with a theoretical inquiry that combines hermeneutics and critical theory and examines the moral nature of social work. It then extends the theoretical analysis to empirical research on mental illness, cancer, community development and social work management. Redefining the relationship between theory and practice, the discussion on first-person value involvement and dialogical mode of understanding will inspire social workers to develop their professional practice in a new light. This volume will capture the attention of both social work scholars and frontline social work practitioners. The hermeneutic point of view will also be of interest to readers/students of social theory and social research.

• Towards a Hermeneutic Conception of Social Work Practice:
  • The Myths of Positivism and the Strong Thesis of Value Involvement
• Towards a Hermeneutic Conception of Social Work Practice:
  • Social Work Skills and Moral Practice
  • A Study from the Hermeneutic Perspective of the Constitution of the Mentally III “Self”
  • The Meaning of Cancer from a Hermeneutic Perspective
  • Critical Theory and Community Development
  • The Moral Basis of Social Work Management