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"...contains many interesting puzzles and examples, and excellent elementary discussions of the major concepts of the social sciences...a treasure trove of suitable and interesting case-studies and examples..." --Dean Rickles, University of Sydney: Philosophy in Review
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An expanded and revised edition of the author's critically acclaimed volume Nuts and Bolts for the Social Sciences. In twenty-six succinct chapters, Jon Elster provides an account of the nature of explanation in the social sciences. He offers an overview of key explanatory mechanisms in the social sciences, relying on hundreds of examples and drawing on a large variety of sources - psychology, behavioral economics, biology, political science, historical writings, philosophy and fiction. Written in accessible and jargon-free language, Elster aims at accuracy and clarity while eschewing formal models. In a provocative conclusion, Elster defends the centrality of qualitative social sciences in a two-front war against soft (literary) and hard (mathematical) forms of obscurantism.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
21 of 22 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I am the author of this book. Please remove the 1997 customer review from the site. (Once you have done that you can remove this review as well.) It refers to an older, much shorter and vastly different version. As a guide to the new book it is seriously misleading.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Elster opens his book by posing some questions which rational choice theory has had difficulty answering, such as:
Why do some gamblers bet on trends, and others on reversals?
Why do humiliating initiation rituals make group members more and not less loyal?
Why does switching prescription drugs from bottles to blister packs significantly reduce the incidence of suicide?
Why do stocks offer a much higher long-run return than bonds?
Why can a reputation for irrational behaviour improve your bargaining situation?
Rational choice theory -- which assumes that people objectively and unbiasedly pursue their goals -- has had little success in explaining these (and more) phenomena of the real world. Elster invokes a number of different fields, such as psychology, behavioural economics, neuroscience, biology, history, and political science in search of sensible answers.
Not only are Elster's answers intuitively appealing, but they also eschew the mind-bendingly complicated mathematics and implausible assumptions of rational choice. However, he doesn't entirely denigrate rational choice: we do, after all, want to act more-or-less rationally in life, and Elster provides a number of mechanisms by which we can attain greater rationality in our decision making.
Why do some gamblers bet on trends, and others on reversals?
Why do humiliating initiation rituals make group members more and not less loyal?
Why does switching prescription drugs from bottles to blister packs significantly reduce the incidence of suicide?
Why do stocks offer a much higher long-run return than bonds?
Why can a reputation for irrational behaviour improve your bargaining situation?
Rational choice theory -- which assumes that people objectively and unbiasedly pursue their goals -- has had little success in explaining these (and more) phenomena of the real world. Elster invokes a number of different fields, such as psychology, behavioural economics, neuroscience, biology, history, and political science in search of sensible answers.
Not only are Elster's answers intuitively appealing, but they also eschew the mind-bendingly complicated mathematics and implausible assumptions of rational choice. However, he doesn't entirely denigrate rational choice: we do, after all, want to act more-or-less rationally in life, and Elster provides a number of mechanisms by which we can attain greater rationality in our decision making.
10 of 18 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
A very cogent summary of Elster's main themes: rationality and how one departs from it, especially from the static notion common in current rational choice theory. Anyone interested in rationality and departures from rationality--a topic much-ignored in current thinking and applications of rational choice theory-- should read this book. While I don't find that I agree with every conclusion Elster makes, he does make me think hard, which is about the best I ever expect.
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