Book Review: On the Science of Uncertainty: The Biographical Method in Social Research, by Franco Ferrarotti

https://doi.org/10.60543/ts_iss.vi10.11583

  • Teresa Paula Garcia da Silva Investigadora Integrada no CLISSIS – Centro Lusíada de Investigação em Serviço Social e Intervenção Social.  Coordenadora do Centro De Interpretação, História e Memória em Serviço Social (CIHMeSS). Professora Auxiliar no Instituto Superior de Serviço Social de Lisboa [ISSSL] - Universidade Lusíada. Professora Auxiliar Convidada da Universidade Aberta/PT.  Doutora em Serviço Social pelo Instituto Superior de Serviço Social de Lisboa  [ISSSL] - Universidade Lusíada. ORCID 0000-0002-5485-7961 E-mail: teresa.silva@edu.ulusia.pt
  • Fabricia Maciel Investigadora Integrada no Centro Lusíada de Investigação em Serviço Social e Intervenção Social (CLISSIS); Investigadora do Centro De Interpretação, História e Memória em Serviço Social (CIHMeSS); membro do Centro de Estudo da Migração e Relações Interculturais (CEMRI); membro do Grupo de Estudo e Pesquisa em Serviço Social na Educação (GEPESSE - UNESP); e do Grupo de Estudo e pesquisa em Comunicação Pública, Política de Assistência e Serviço Social (COMPASS - UNB). Professora Auxiliar da Universidade Lusíada e Professora Auxiliar da Universidade Aberta. Doutora em Serviço Social pela Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP/Franca), sanduiche na Universidade de Lisboa/ISCSP. ORCID 0000-0
  • Helder Machado Investigador Colaborador no Centro Lusíada de Investigação em Serviço Social e Intervenção Social (CLISSIS); Investigador do Centro De Interpretação, História e Memória em Serviço Social (CIHMeSS)
  • Paulo Soares Paulo Jorge Amaral Soares Investigador Colaborador no Centro Lusíada de Investigação em Serviço Social e Intervenção Social (CLISSIS); Investigador do Centro De Interpretação, História e Memória em Serviço Social (CIHMeSS) Email: psoares@ulusiada.pt
DOI: https://doi.org/10.60543/ts_iss.vi10.11583
Keywords: Keywords: Biographical method; Science of uncertainty; Critique of positivism; Epistemology; Qualitative research

Abstract

The death of Franco Ferrarotti (1926–2024) lends particular urgency to rereading Sobre a ciência da incerteza: o método biográfico na investigação em ciências sociais (2013) and repositioning it within contemporary debates in the social sciences. Starting from the author’s critique of positivist hegemony, the autonomisation of technique, and the “fetishism of data”, this review examines the biographical method as an epistemological, methodological, and ethical proposal grounded in relationality, historicity, and attentive listening to research participants. The analysis brings Ferrarotti’s work into dialogue with later contributions to biographical research, particularly those concerning creative methods, vulnerability, trauma, and an ethics of care, and discusses its relevance in the face of hyper-quantification and the growing algorithmic mediation of social life. It concludes that Ferrarotti’s legacy remains crucial to a critical sociology capable of combining rigour and reflexivity without reducing the complexity of human experience to abstract indicators.

 

 

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Author Biographies

Teresa Paula Garcia da Silva, Investigadora Integrada no CLISSIS – Centro Lusíada de Investigação em Serviço Social e Intervenção Social.  Coordenadora do Centro De Interpretação, História e Memória em Serviço Social (CIHMeSS). Professora Auxiliar no Instituto Superior de Serviço Social de Lisboa [ISSSL] - Universidade Lusíada. Professora Auxiliar Convidada da Universidade Aberta/PT.  Doutora em Serviço Social pelo Instituto Superior de Serviço Social de Lisboa  [ISSSL] - Universidade Lusíada. ORCID 0000-0002-5485-7961 E-mail: teresa.silva@edu.ulusia.pt

PhD in Social Work, with a Bachelor’s and a Master’s degree in Social Work, she is an Assistant Professor at Lusíada University of Lisbon and a Guest Assistant Professor at the Open University. She is an integrated researcher and Director of the Lusíada Centre for Research in Social Work and Social Intervention (CLISSIS), and Coordinator of the Centre for Interpretation, History and Memory in Social Work (CIHMeSS). She is also a Senior Technician at Cascais City Council – Territorial Rights Promotion Unit

Fabricia Maciel, Investigadora Integrada no Centro Lusíada de Investigação em Serviço Social e Intervenção Social (CLISSIS); Investigadora do Centro De Interpretação, História e Memória em Serviço Social (CIHMeSS); membro do Centro de Estudo da Migração e Relações Interculturais (CEMRI); membro do Grupo de Estudo e Pesquisa em Serviço Social na Educação (GEPESSE - UNESP); e do Grupo de Estudo e pesquisa em Comunicação Pública, Política de Assistência e Serviço Social (COMPASS - UNB). Professora Auxiliar da Universidade Lusíada e Professora Auxiliar da Universidade Aberta. Doutora em Serviço Social pela Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP/Franca), sanduiche na Universidade de Lisboa/ISCSP. ORCID 0000-0
Brazilian based in Portugal, PhD in Social Work from São Paulo State University (UNESP), with a sandwich period at the University of Lisbon – ISCSP; Master’s degree in Public Administration – Social Policy Management from the Government School of the State of Minas Gerais – Fundação João Pinheiro; and a Bachelor’s degree in Social Work from the Pontifical Catholic University of Minas Gerais. Lecturer at the Open University of Portugal – Department of Social and Management Sciences. Integrated researcher at the Lusíada Centre for Research in Social Work and Social Intervention (CLISSIS) and at the Centre for Interpretation, History and Memory in Social Work (CIHMeSS); and collaborator at the Centre for Studies on Migration and Intercultural Relations (CEMRI/PT). Member of research groups in Brazil: Study and Research Group on Social Work in the field of Education (GEPESSE/UNESP); Study, Research and Extension Group on Public Communication, Social Assistance and Social Work (COMPASS).
Helder Machado, Investigador Colaborador no Centro Lusíada de Investigação em Serviço Social e Intervenção Social (CLISSIS); Investigador do Centro De Interpretação, História e Memória em Serviço Social (CIHMeSS)

Director of the Information, Documentation and Internet Services of Lusíada University of Lisbon, and National Coordinator of the Portuguese Network of European Documentation Centres. He is also responsible for the development of projects in the areas of information and communication technologies, such as the portals “Arquitectura do Saber” and “O Europeu”.

He holds a degree in History (scientific and educational branches) and a postgraduate qualification in Documentation and Information Sciences, in the fields of librarianship and archival science, from the Faculty of Arts of the University of Lisbon. He is currently a doctoral candidate in Historical Archival Science at the Faculty of Social and Human Sciences of NOVA University Lisbon.

In addition to his work as a librarian and archivist, he has regularly taught in higher education courses, worked as a trainer in the fields of information science and the Internet, supervised internships in Master's programmes in Information and Documentation Sciences, and acted as a consultant in various institutions. He was a member of the Editorial Board of the Portuguese Association of Librarians, Archivists and Documentalists.

Paulo Soares, Paulo Jorge Amaral Soares Investigador Colaborador no Centro Lusíada de Investigação em Serviço Social e Intervenção Social (CLISSIS); Investigador do Centro De Interpretação, História e Memória em Serviço Social (CIHMeSS) Email: psoares@ulusiada.pt

Deputy Director of the Department of Culture, Knowledge and Information at Lusíada University and a collaborating researcher at CIHMESS – Centre for Interpretation, History and Memory in Social Work, integrated into the Lusíada Centre for Research in Social Work and Social Intervention. He also collaborates in the development of projects in the fields of information and communication technologies, such as the portals “Arquitetura do Saber” and “e-Lusíada”.

He holds a degree in Communication Sciences (research and culture track) and a Master’s degree in Information and Documentation Sciences (in the areas of Librarianship and Documentation) from the Faculty of Social and Human Sciences of NOVA University Lisbon.

He has published several works on topics related to Archival Science, Information Curation and Librarianship.

Published
2026-07-30
How to Cite
da Silva, T. P. G., Maciel, F., Machado, H., & Soares, P. (2026). Book Review: On the Science of Uncertainty: The Biographical Method in Social Research, by Franco Ferrarotti: https://doi.org/10.60543/ts_iss.vi10.11583 . "Temas Sociais" Journal , (10), 219-226. https://doi.org/10.60543/ts_iss.vi10.11583
Issue
No. 10 (2026): Temas Sociais n.º 10
Section
Recensões

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