Explaining Social Behavior
More Nuts and Bolts for the Social Sciences
2nd Edition
Published on 30. April 2007
Book
Hardback
498 pages
978-0-521-77179-5 (ISBN)
Description
This book is an expanded and revised edition of the author's critically acclaimed volume Nuts and Bolts for the Social Sciences. In twenty-six succinct chapters, Jon Elster provides an account of the nature of explanation in the social sciences. He offers an overview of key explanatory mechanisms in the social sciences, relying on hundreds of examples and drawing on a large variety of sources - psychology, behavioral economics, biology, political science, historical writings, philosophy and fiction. Written in accessible and jargon-free language, Elster aims at accuracy and clarity while eschewing formal models. In a provocative conclusion, Elster defends the centrality of qualitative social sciences in a two-front war against soft (literary) and hard (mathematical) forms of obscurantism.
Reviews / Votes
"...contains many interesting puzzles and examples, and excellent elementary discussions of the major concepts of the social sciences...a treasure trove of suitable and interesting case-studies and examples..." --Dean Rickles, University of Sydney: Philosophy in ReviewMore details
Edition
2nd edition
Language
English
Place of publication
Cambridge
United Kingdom
Target group
College/higher education
Edition type
New edition
Illustrations
5 Tables, unspecified
Dimensions
Height: 235 mm
Width: 157 mm
Thickness: 35 mm
Weight
771 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-521-77179-5 (9780521771795)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
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07/2015
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Additional editions
E-Book
05/2007
1st Edition
Cambridge University Press
€26.49
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E-Book
04/2007
Cambridge University Press
€21.99
Available for download
Person
Jon Elster is Professor and Chaire de Rationalite et Sciences Sociales at the College de France. A fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and Corresponding Fellow of the British Academy, he is a recipient of fellowships from The John Simon Guggenheim Foundation and the Russell Sage Foundation, among many others. Dr Elster has taught at the University of Chicago and Columbia University and has held visiting professorships at many universities in the United States and in Europe. He is the author and editor of thirty-four books, most recently Closing the Books: Transitional Justice in Historical Perspective, Elementary Social Science from an Advanced Standpoint, and Retribution and Restitution in the Transition to Democracy.
Content
Preface; Introduction; Part I. Explanation and Mechanisms: 1. Explanation; 2. Mechanisms; 3. Interpretation; Part II. The Mind: 4. Motivations; 5. Self-interest and altruism; 6. Myopia and foresight; 7. Beliefs; 8. Emotions; Part III. Action: 9. Desires and opportunities; 10. Persons and situations; 11. Rational choice; 12. Rationality and behavior; 13. Responding to irrationality; 14. Some implications for textual interpretation; Part IV. Lessons from the Natural Sciences: 15. Physiology and neuroscience; 16. Explanation by consequences and natural selection; 17. Selection and human behavior; Part V. Interaction: 18. Unintended consequences; 19. Strategic interaction; 20. Games and behavior; 21. Trust; 22. Social norms; 23. Collective belief formation; 24. Collective action; 25. Collective decision-making; 26. Organizations and institutions; Conclusion.