Rational Choice Contrversy
- List Price: $20.00
- Binding: Paperback
- Publisher: Univ of Chicago Pr
- Publish date: 02/28/2005
This met with criticism from historical sociologists who employ comparative and narrative analyses to give a context to sociologically significant events. Theoretical statements that disregard time and place were met with suspicion by the critics of rational choice theory.
The original Kiser and Hechter paper is reprinted here, along with the chapters "Have Historical Sociologists Forsaken Theory?"; "Realism, Rational Choice, and Relationality in Social Science"; "Limitations of Rational Choice Theory"; "Initial Conditions, General Laws, Path Dependence, and Explanation in Historical Sociology"; "Narrative, General Theory, and Historically Specific Theory"; plus replies by Kiser and Hechter
The result is a provocative exchange that calls into question the roles of history and theory in social science, their compatibility, and their epistemological foundations.