Wichtiger Hinweis: Das Seminar findet digital statt!

The explanation of social action is one of the main goals of sociological theory. But what does it mean to 'explain' the social? The current theoretical fragmentation in sociology and its intermediary position between natural sciences and humanities do not seem to allow for a clear answer. We will try to shed some light on these questions by critically discussing the most ambitious attempt to make a 'proper' science out of sociology: Rational Choice Theory (RCT).

RCT strives to provide social science with rigorous theoretical underpinnings directly connected to empirically testable hypotheses. One core assumption of RCT is that all relevant human action can and ought to be modeled as an attempt to rationally satisfy individual preferences. Starting from this simple assumption, it aims to predict and explain behavior in many domains and highlights important problems of collective action. However, RCT has been widely criticized for its too-restricted view on human motivation and the nature of social action. Also, the most basic and restricted version of RCT is probably the only clearly falsified theory in social science history. Yet, there is maybe as much to learn from RCT's shortcomings as from its successes about the nature of social action and the explanation of social action.

Kurs im HIS-LSF