Methodological individualism is the belief that all sociological explanations can be reduced to characteristics of individuals who make up the society. Methodological individualism is the hallmark of positivism. It is common to categorize social scientific theories under Methodological individualism or Methodological Holism, and to assume that they are opposites. Positivism construes phenomena as simple, homogeneous, separate, variables. Methodological individualism is often contrasted with Methodological Holism. Methodological individualism is also evident in positivistic instruments such as questionnaires. Each item on a questionnaire is a separate element that supposedly taps a discrete psychological attribute.
THE CHANGING FACE OF METHODOLOGICAL INDIVIDUALISM - Lars Udehn. In this article I distinguish a number of versions of methodological individualism that differ significantly in strength. The main divide is between strong versions of methodological individualism, which suggest that all social phenomena should be explained only in terms of individuals and their interaction, and weak versions of methodological individualism, which also assign an important role to social institutions and/or social structure in social science explanations.
Methodological Individualism, Explanation, and Invariance
Daniel Steel.
This article examines methodological individualism in terms of the theory that invariance
under intervention is the signal feature of generalizations that serve as a basis for
causal explanation. This theory supports the holist contention that macro-level
generalizations can explain, but it also suggests a defense of methodological
individualism on the grounds that greater range of invariance under intervention entails
deeper explanation. Although this individualist position is not threatened by
multiple-realizability, an argument for it based on rational
choice theory is called into question by experimental results concerning preference
reversals.
Ho, D. Y. F. Relational orientation and methodological individualism. Relational Orientation and Methodological Individualism. Abstract: The essay represents an attempt to weave two seemingly unrelated strands of inquiry together. These two strands of inquiry converge to support the thesis of relational orientation, that social behavior invariably takes place in relational contexts, regardless of social class or cultural variations; and that, accordingly, the unit of analysis is not the individual, but individual-in-relations. Relational orientation confronts the bias toward methodological individualism in contemporary mainstream social psychology.
The Principle of Methodological Individualism and Marxian Epistemology - Joachim Israel, University of Copenhagen. I am going to defend the thesis, which at first may appear to be strange, that, in order to base sociology on Marxian epistemology one has to accept on an ontological level the position of methodological individualism, and on a metatheoretical level a position of non-reductionism. In order to support my thesis I have to explicate briefly: Karl Marx's basic epistomological position and the principle of methodological individualism.
An Epistemological Plea for Methodological Individualism and Rational Choice Theory in Cognitive Rhetoric - Alban Bouvier. Some current attempts to go beyond the narrow scope of rational choice theory in the social sciences and the artificial reconstructions it sometimes provides focus on the arguments that people give to justify their beliefs and behaviors themselves. The authors do not explicitly support rational choice theory, and Sperber has even strongly criticized methodological individualism, which most of the time underlies rational choice theory, in favor of infra-individualism. A key point of the argument presented here is to show that Sperber and Wilson do not firmly distinguish between infra-individualism and subintentionality.
Methodological individualism, economic behaviour and economic policy - Papanikos G.T. Abstract: Examines Hayek's version of methodological individualism in relation to individual economic actions and economic effectiveness. Economic policy is a form of social planning which is not only ineffective but also has cataclysmic long-lasting effects, creating a disorder in the market system. Two arguments are made in this study.
Reconciling Group Selection and Methodological Individualism - TODD
J.ZYWICKI. Abstract: Methodological individualism underpins economic analysis. In his paper in this
volume, however, Douglas Glen Whitman demonstrates that group selection can be reconciled
with methodological individualism. This essay extends Whitman's analysis in two ways.
First, it summarizes and restates the necessary conditions for group selection to play a
role in the evolution of human preferences and societies. Second, it discusses the role of
group selection in Hayek's thought, with a particular focus on the role of group selection
in the evolution of legal rules and the rule of law.
First, methodological individualism should be considered and be accepted as a
serous attempt to explain atomistic behavior as purposeful
actions constrained by scarce resources and limited knowledge.
Second, Hayek’s strong
version of methodological individualism is very simplistic as it is applied to economic
policy issues, contradicting his argument in support of a methodological dualism.
Methodological Individualism and Rational Choice in Neoclassical Economics: An
Institutionalist Critique - Darley Jose.
Abstract: This review paper is an attempt to take a critical look at methodological
individualism and rational choice theory that form the hard core of neoclassical economics, from
an institutionalist perspective. I try to establish that methodological individualism is a
project of reductionism, by discussing reductionism in the context of social sciences, and
by analysing methodological individualism in the context of neoclassical economics.
Philosophical and institutionalist critiques are then employed to elucidate that
methodological individualism as practised in neoclassical economics is not capable of
explaining real world phenomena. The
neo-institutionalism and new institutionlism, though some relaxation of the axioms has
been attempted, still uphold the neoclassical maxims of methodological individualism and
rational choice.
Methodological individualism, cognitive homogeneity and environmental determinism -
Clark A. - Source: Journal of Economic Methodology, Volume 10, Number 1, March 2003.
Abstract: In this paper the author argues that this bias is an inevitable
by-product of the methodological individualism adopted within mainstream economics. The
author concludes that methodological individualism is, therefore, flawed both as a
mechanism for accessing the reality of the business world and the power of firms within
it, and for teaching others about that reality, particularly as it also acts to undermine
student motivation.
Some Notes on Methodological Individualism: Orthodox and Heterodox Views
ANDY DENIS, The City University London, October 9, 2006.
Abstract: 'Methodological individualism' (MI) is often invoked as a fundamental
description of the methodology both of neoclassical and Austrian economics, as well as
other approaches, from New Keynesianism to analytical Marxism.
The methodologies of those to whom the
theoretical practice of methodological individualism is ascribed differ profoundly on the
status of the individual economic agent.
The present paper looks at the issues involved in making sense of the concept of methodological
individualism. It is argued that at least three distinct polarities are generally
conflated in the critique and defence of methodological individualism: holism versus
reductionism, materialism versus idealism, and top-down versus
bottom-up thinking.