Models of Man
Philosophical Thoughts on Social Action
Published on 8. October 2015
Book
Paperback/Softback
172 pages
978-1-107-53437-7 (ISBN)
Description
All social theorists and philosophers who seek to explain human action have a 'model of man'; a metaphysical view of human nature that requires its own theory of scientific knowledge. In this influential book, Martin Hollis examines the tensions that arise from the differing views of sociologists, economists and psychologists. He then develops a rationalist model of his own which connects personal and social identity through a theory of rational action and a priori knowledge, allowing humans to both act freely and still be a subject for scientific explanation. Presented in a fresh series livery and including a specially commissioned preface written by Geoffrey Hawthorn, Hollis's important work is made available to a new generation of readers.
Reviews / Votes
'[Hollis's] extremely clear, sharp, witty style ... makes the entire book very well worth reading. I find his central point entirely persuasive, and it may well be that his careful and courteous defence of it will be the best way to bring it home to those who still see witchcraft in any suggestion that the world must be explained in different ways for different purposes.' Philosophy 'Why do human beings behave in detail exactly as they do and not in some other way? What, if anything, causes them so to act? How can we validly explain the fact that they do in practice act this way and not differently? ... It is the distinctive merit of Martin Hollis's exceedingly clever ... little book to ram home the priority of these vertiginous metaphysical questions to any intellectually coherent attempt to understand one another, individually or by the gross. Radical interpretation is simply the stuff of human life; and the social sciences are radical interpretation on stilts.' New SocietyMore details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
Cambridge
United Kingdom
Target group
College/higher education
Professional and scholarly
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Illustrations
6 Line drawings, black and white
Dimensions
Height: 229 mm
Width: 152 mm
Thickness: 10 mm
Weight
259 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-107-53437-7 (9781107534377)
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
Other editions
Additional editions
Book
10/2015
Cambridge University Press
€70.10
Shipment within 15-20 days
Previous edition
Book
06/1977
Cambridge University Press
€37.13
Article exhausted; check for reprint
Person
Martin Hollis (1938-98) was a philosopher of the social sciences and game theory and is best known for his rationalism. He was Head of the Department of Philosophy at the University of East Anglia and eventually Pro-Vice-Chancellor until his death in 1998.
Content
Preface to this edition Geoffrey Hawthorn; Preface; 1. Two models; Part I. Plastic Man: 2. Nature and nurture; 3. The regularity of the moral world; Part II. Autonomous Man: 4. Life's short comedy; 5. Personal identity and social identity; 6. Elements of action; Part III. Other Minds: 7. The rational and the real; 8. Ideal understanding; 9. Envoi: actor and context; Bibliography; Index of names.