Reason in Action: Essays in the Philosophy of Social Science

Paperback / softback

Main Details

Title Reason in Action: Essays in the Philosophy of Social Science
Authors and Contributors      By (author) Martin Hollis
Physical Properties
Format:Paperback / softback
Pages:296
Dimensions(mm): Height 216,Width 140
Category/GenreSocial and political philosophy
ISBN/Barcode 9780521447799
ClassificationsDewey:300.1
Audience
Professional & Vocational
Illustrations Worked examples or Exercises

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. In these essays, culled in revised form from twenty-five years' work, Martin Hollis argues that social action cannot be understood by viewing human beings as abstract individuals with preferences in search of satisfaction, or by divorcing practical reason from questions of the rationality of norms, principles, practices and ends.

Reviews

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