To view prices and purchase online, please login or create an account now.



Reason in Action: Essays in the Philosophy of Social Science

Hardback

Main Details

Title Reason in Action: Essays in the Philosophy of Social Science
Authors and Contributors      By (author) Martin Hollis
Physical Properties
Format:Hardback
Pages:296
Dimensions(mm): Height 216,Width 140
Category/GenreSocial and political philosophy
ISBN/Barcode 9780521442633
ClassificationsDewey:300.1
Audience
Professional & Vocational

Publishing Details

Publisher Cambridge University Press
Imprint Cambridge University Press
Publication Date 7 December 1995
Publication Country United Kingdom

Description

Did Adam and Eve act rationally in eating the fruit of the forbidden tree? That can seem to depend solely on whether they had found the best means to their ends, in the spirit of the 'economic' theories of rationality. Martin Hollis respects the elegance and power of these theories but judges their paradoxes endemic. He argues that social action cannot be understood by viewing human beings as abstract individuals with preferences in search of satisfaction, nor by divorcing practical reason from questions of the rationality of norms, principles, practices and ends. These essays, focused on the themes of 'rational choice', 'roles and reasons' and 'other cultures, other minds', make the point and explore alternative approaches. Culled in revised form from twenty-five years' work, the essays range across periods and disciplines with a philosophical imagination and vivid prose, which will engage philosophers and social scientists alike.

Reviews

'... this book presents an elegantly argued and forcefully stated counter-challenge to the naturalists.' British Journal of Sociology