Explain and evaluate the debate between methodological individualism and holism. Introduction The explanatory variants of MI and holism are likely to be interdependent; both individualists and holists contribute meaningfully to the nature of social explanations. MI states that social phenomena are fully explained only when there is reference to the behaviour and action of individuals. Holism states that it is the study of collective forces, groups, and organisations that dictates the explanation of social phenomena . ‘Dictates’ implies that all social entities and theories in the world may not be reducible to individualist explanations; for example, the study of individual behaviour in Schelling’s neighbourhood segregation model may not be explained from a holist’s perspective, because the model can be reducible to individualist explanations, namely ‘individual innocuous preferences for like neighbours leads to complete segregation’. Additionally, social facts are ‘things’ that exist independently in and of themselves, irrespective of individuals’ actions. I contest that proponents of MI and holism conventionally present some or all of the following three arguments, of which I will refute individually. Notably, I only propose that the explanatory variants of MI and holism are both useful and can be employed symbiotically, and not that either MI or holism are superior to its counterpart. While the latter may logically follow from my refutation of the proceeding arguments, this is fallacious, because there are alternative theories such as functionalism and structuralism, whereby there is an attempt to strike a middle ground between the extremes of MI and holism. Since the superiority of either MI or... ... middle of paper ... ...: Emergence and Convergence. Oxford: Bergahn Books. (p. 248) Rafanell, Irene (2009). Durkheim’s Social Facts and the Performative Model: Reconsidering the Objective Nature of Social Phenomena. In: Sociological Objects. Wiley Online Library. (p. 1-29) Stein, David (2013). 27. DOD’s insulting ‘Bystander Intervention Tips”. Website link: http://www.bizpacreview.com/2013/03/21/exclusive-parody-of-dods-insultin-bystander-intervention-tips-56928. Last accessed 17 Dec 2013. Tambiah, Stanley J. Form and Meaning of Magical Acts. In: ‘Culture, Thought, and Social Action: An Anthropological Perspective’. USA: Harvard University Press. (p. 11) Wainwright, Louden. They Dying Girl That No-One Helped. In: ‘Genocide’ (p. 441) Watkins, J. W. N. (1957). 28. In: Martin, Michael and McIntyre, Lee C. Readings in the Philosophy of Social Science. United States: MIT Press. (p. 270)
Delbaere-Garant, Jeannie. "Variations on Magical Realism". Magical Realism Theory, History, Community. Ed. Lois Parkison Zamora and Wendy B. Faris. Durham" Duke U.P., 1995. 249-263.
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According to Karl Marx, alienation is a result of living in a socially stratified society, because the mechanistic parts of a social class alienates a person from his or her humanity and human nature. This is done through the work of the market economy and capitalism in which prior, society was cohesive and worked together to combine and achieve ultimate goals. However, with the onset of capitalism, the market economy placed individuals on metaphoric stations doing one single task to accomplish mass production. Based on specific qualities, education, and abilities, people were placed on a specific role to accomplish a task for the powerful to make more money. Since the ideology of capitalism came before psychology, the field of psychology was inherently influenced by this type of process, which has been ingrained into out socialization of society’s function. Methodological Individualism attempts to identify all human characteristics on an indefinite continuum. Once these characteristics are understood, scientists can then research and control for specific outcomes in order to ultimately control human behaviour; this is how psychology functions today. By reducing human beings, we can understand the strengths and weaknesses of individuals and have them place on a track to fit in with a capitalist economy. Like the market economy, humans are issued on a chain for mass
In the framework of classical sociological theory, numerous sources, including Ritzer, investigate this brave new world of unified science and empirical foundation. They are moving amidst the "theory park" of speculative philosophical systems in sociology and yet they are turning to theoretical applications such as elementarist, holistic, and interactionist approaches. This technique is employed in order to make classical social theory more meaningful and to better engage theory with useful research (Sandywell, p. 607).
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Talcott Parsons have some of the same views of sociology as Durkheim, he believed that social life is categorized by social cooperation. Parsons also believed that commitment to common values maintains or...
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In the social sciences, an endless debate is ongoing involving fundamental issues pertaining between methodological individualism and methodological holism. The reason this is such a deep rooted heated debate amongst researchers is the fact that it touches upon our most 'deeply-seated' beliefs about the nature of the individual and of society, our knowledge about these, and the idea of a good society (Udehn, 2002). According to Parsons (1937) methodological individualism is a claim in social phenomena which must be explained by showing how these results from individual actions, which in turn must be explained through reference to the intentional states that motivate the individual actors. Simply put, it is the claim that explanations of “macro” social phenomena must be supplied with “micro” foundations (Alexander, 1987). The main objective of this paper is to look at arguments from both spectrums of the advantages and disadvantages of the ideology of methodological individualism. The aim is not conclude which is better, but simply to understand the arguments on both sides.
We have seen magic as a form of entertainment, from making someone disappear, to sawing a girl in half. But all great illusions have an explanation. “Magic, as we have seen, is about power- a seemingly magical power used and expressed by a skilled actor to create the illusion of miraculous happenings’. But the most mysterious part of magic is how these miraculous happenings are performed. The real power of magic lies within the native effects themselves (Blackstone, 117).
Parsons, Talcott. (1938). The Role of Theory in Social Research. American Sociological Review. 3(1), 13-20.