Ontology, Methodological Individualism, and the Foundations of the Social Sciences

Robert Sugden

Journal of Economic Literature, 2016, vol. 54, issue 4, 1377-89

Abstract: This is a review essay based on a critical assessment of The Ant Trap: Rebuilding the Foundations of the Social Sciences by Brian Epstein. Epstein argues that models in the social sciences are inadequate because they are based on a false ontology of methodological individualism, and proposes a new model of social ontology. I examine this model and point to flaws in it. More generally, I argue against Epstein's methodological approach, which treats social ontology as prior to social scientific modeling and as certifying the "building blocks" that modelers then use. I argue that modelers can legitimately shape the building blocks for their own models.

JEL-codes: A10 B40 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2016
Note: DOI: 10.1257/jel.20151372
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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