GROUP SELECTION AND METHODOLOGICAL INDIVIDUALISM: COMPATIBLE AND COMPLEMENTARY

Douglas Glen Whitman

A chapter in Evolutionary Psychology and Economic Theory, 2005, pp 221-249 from Emerald Group Publishing Limited

Abstract: Various authors allege that the theory of group selection is inconsistent with methodological individualism, and therefore analysts must reject at least one of these principles. The present article argues for their compatibility. The meaning of methodological individualism is clarified, and the new version of group selection (articulated by Wilson & Sober, 1994, 1998) is explained. The two principles are then incorporated into a single methodological approach. Group selection affects the assumptions made about the kind of individuals who populate social scientific models, while methodological individualism requires models’ conclusions to follow from the actions and interactions of those individuals.

Date: 2005
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.101 ... d&utm_campaign=repec (text/html)
https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.101 ... d&utm_campaign=repec (application/pdf)
Access to full text is restricted to subscribers

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eme:aaeczz:s1529-2134(04)07010-3

DOI: 10.1016/S1529-2134(04)07010-3

Access Statistics for this chapter

More chapters in Advances in Austrian Economics from Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Emerald Support ().