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"Methodological individualism, for which all social phenomena must be explained in terms of what individuals think, choose, and do, is widely considered to be true. By challenging key individualist assumptions, Bhargava questions this view and rehabilitates a non-individualist methodology which permits an independent study of social practices and a context-specific inquiry into the beliefs and actions of individuals." "This book will be indispensable to students and scholars of political science, philosophy, sociology, history, and anthropology."--BOOK JACKET.
This collection of papers investigates the most recent debates about individualism and holism in the philosophy of social science. The debates revolve mainly around two issues: firstly, whether social phenomena exist sui generis and how they relate to individuals. This is the focus of discussions between ontological individualists and ontological holists. Secondly, to what extent social scientific explanations may and should, focus on individuals and social phenomena respectively. This issue is debated amongst methodological holists and methodological individualists. In social science and philosophy, both issues have been intensively discussed and new versions of the dispute have appeared just as new arguments have been advanced. At present, the individualism/holism debate is extremely lively and this book reflects the major positions and perspectives within the debate. This volume is also relevant to debates about two closely related issues in social science: the micro-macro debate and the agency-structure debate. This book presents contributions from key figures in both social science and philosophy, in the first such collection on this topic to be published since the 1970s.
Throughout the history of social thought, there has been a constant battle over the true nature of society, and the best way to understand and explain it. This volume covers the development of methodological individualism, including the individualist theory of society from Greek antiquity to modern social science. It is a comprehensive and systematic treatment of methodological individualism in all its manifestations.
O'Neill, J. Scientism, historicism and the problem of rationality.--Hayek, F.A. From Scientism and the study of society.--Popper, K.R. From The poverty of historicism.--Brodbeck, M. On the philosophy of the social sciences.--Gewirth, A. Subjectivism and objectivism in the social sciences.--Rudner, R.S. Philosophy and social science.--Gewirth, A. Can men change the laws of social science?--Watkins, J.W.N. Ideal types and historical explanation.--Watkins, J.W.N. Historical explanation in the social sciences.--Watkins, J.W.N. Methodological individualism: a reply.--Agassi, J. Methodological individualism.--Scott, K.J. Methodological and epistemological individualism.--Mandelbaum, M. Societal facts.--Mandelbaum, M. Societal laws.--Gellner, E.A. Explanations in history.--Goldstein, L.J. The inadequacy of the principle of methodological individualism.--Goldstein, L.J. Two theses of methodological individualism.--Brodbeck, M. Methodological individualisms: definition and reduction.--Danto, A.C. Methodological individualism and methodological socialism.--Bibliography (p. 339-346).
While methodological individualism is a fundamental approach within the social sciences, it is often misunderstood. This highlights the need for a discursive and up-to-date reference work analyzing this approach’s classic arguments and assumptions in the light of contemporary issues in sociology, economics and philosophy. This two-volume handbook presents the first comprehensive overview of methodological individualism. Chapters discuss historical and contemporary debates surrounding this central approach within the social sciences, as well as cutting edge developments related to the individualist tradition with philosophical and scientific implications. Bringing together multiple contributions from the world’s leading experts on this important tradition of theorizing, this collective endeavor provides teachers, researchers and students in sociology, economics, and philosophy with a reliable and critical understanding of the founding principles, key thinkers and intellectual development of MI since the late 19th century. ​
This book examines individualism and holism, the two interpretive perspectives that have divided sociological theory into two camps, examines attempts to overcome this antinomy and sets out a new approach to resolving this dilemma via ‘critical reconfigurationism’.
A belief in individual self-determination powered the development of universal human rights and inspired social movements from anti-slavery to socialism and feminism. At the same time, every attempt to embed individualism in systems of education and employment has eventually led to increased social inequality. Across the globe individualism has been transformed from a revolutionary force into an explanation for increasingly unequal societies where dissent is largely silent. This book explores the possibility of rediscovering the original, transformative potential of individualism.
We live in a world of crowds and corporations, artworks and artifacts, legislatures and languages, money and markets. These are all social objects - they are made, at least in part, by people and by communities. But what exactly are these things? How are they made, and what is the role of people in making them? In The Ant Trap, Brian Epstein rewrites our understanding of the nature of the social world and the foundations of the social sciences. Epstein explains and challenges the three prevailing traditions about how the social world is made. One tradition takes the social world to be built out of people, much as traffic is built out of cars. A second tradition also takes people to be the building blocks of the social world, but focuses on thoughts and attitudes we have toward one another. And a third tradition takes the social world to be a collective projection onto the physical world. Epstein shows that these share critical flaws. Most fundamentally, all three traditions overestimate the role of people in building the social world: they are overly anthropocentric. Epstein starts from scratch, bringing the resources of contemporary metaphysics to bear. In the place of traditional theories, he introduces a model based on a new distinction between the grounds and the anchors of social facts. Epstein illustrates the model with a study of the nature of law, and shows how to interpret the prevailing traditions about the social world. Then he turns to social groups, and to what it means for a group to take an action or have an intention. Contrary to the overwhelming consensus, these often depend on more than the actions and intentions of group members.