Philosophy of Social Science

Revisited 5.2. The Games People Play Rationality and Utility Games and Strategies Equilibria Nash Equilibria and the Battle of the Bismarck Sea Multiple Equilibria and Coordination Problems 5.3. Agency The Psychological Plausibility of Rational Choice Theory Rational Fools? Game Theory in the Laboratory Instrumentalism and Structuralism 5.4. Wrap up Chapter Summary Discussion questions Further Reading 6. Reductionism: Structures, Agents, and Evolution 6.1. Explaining Revolutions 6.2. Social Theory and Social Ontology The Individualism-Holism Debate Definition and Theoretical Reduction Supervenience Methodological Localism 6.3. Agents and Social Explanations Methodological Individualism Microfoundations and Moderate Explanatory Individualism Agency and Mechanistic Explanation 6.4. Evolutionary Explanations Functions in Evolutionary Perspective Selectionist Explanations of Cooperation and the Evolution of Norms Consequences of Selectionism for the Social Sciences 6.5. Wrap up Chapter Summary Discussion questions Further Reading 7. Social Norms 7.1. Disenchanting the social world Is and Ought Normativism Good Bad Theories 7.2. Norms and Rational Choices Convention Conventionality and Normativity Social Norms 7.3. Normativity and Practice Norms and practices Problems for Practice Theory Practices Without Regularities 7.4. Reductionism and Naturalized Normativity Normativism and Holism Norms, Naturalism, and Supervenience Prospects for Naturalized Normativity 7.5. Wrap up Chapter Summary Discussion questions Further Reading 8. Intentions, Institutions, and Collective Action 8.1. Agency and Collective Intentionality Team Reasoning Joint Commitment Group agency 8.2. Joint Intentionality Cooperation Again: Ontogeny and Development Plans and Joint Intentions We-intentions and the We-mode Acting as a Group Member 8.3. Intentions and Institutions The Strange Tale of the Druid Penny Function and Rules in Institutions Explaining Social Institutions 8.4. Wrap up Chapter Summary Discussion questions Further Reading 9. Causality and Law in the Social World 9.1. The Democratic Peace Hypothesis 9.2. Are There Social Scientific Laws? Characteristics of Natural Laws Creativity and Complexity 9.3. Conceptualizing Causation Constant Conjunction Linear Equation Modeling and Causal Regularities Interventionism Capacities and Nomological Engines 9.4. Models and Mechanisms Secret Springs and Principles Correlations, Black Boxes, and Processes Middle Range Theory and Agent-Based Models 9.5. Wrap up Chapter Summary Discussion questions Further Reading 10. Methodologies of Causal Inference 10.1. Bayesian Networks and Causal Modeling Confounds and Common Causes Bayesian Inference Challenges to Causal Modeling 10.2. Case Studies and Causal Structure The Apparent Value of Case Studies Epistemological Challenges of Case Studies Justification and Discovery 10.3. Experimentation What Can We Learn From Social Scientific Experimentation? Quasi-Experiments and Randomized Controlled Trials 10.4. Extrapolation and Social Engineering Evidence-based Policy The FCC Auction Breaking the Extrapolator's Circle Performativity and Social Engineering 10.5. Wrap up Chapter Summary Discussion questions Further Reading