Instrumental Rationality in the Social Sciences
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 10927809 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Katharina Nieswandt (0000-0003-1663-0667, Concordia University, Montreal, QC, Canada, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2024 |
| Volume | 54 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 46-68 |
| Publication date | 2024-01-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Philosophy of the Social Sciences (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0048-3931 • E-ISSN: 1552-7441 |
| Publisher | SAGE Publications (PUBLISHER • US) |
| DOI | 10.1177/00483931231181930 |
| OpenAlex | W4385755367 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 3 |
| References cited | 33 |
This paper draws some bold conclusions from modest premises. My topic is an old one, the Neohumean view of practical rationality. First, I show that this view consists of two independent claims, instrumentalism and subjectivism. Most critics run these together. Instrumentalism is entailed by many theories beyond Neohumeanism, viz., by any theory that says rational actions maximize something. Second, I give a new argument against instrumentalism, using simple counterexamples. This argument systematically undermines consequentialism and rational choice theory, I show, using detailed examples of their many social science applications. There is no obvious fix
Argument (complex analysis) · Counterexample · Ecological rationality · Economics · Epistemology · Instrumentalism · Philosophy of science · Positive economics · Rationality · Simple (philosophy) · Sociology · Subjectivism · Epistemology, Ethics, and Metaphysics · Mathematics · Philosophical Ethics and Theory · Philosophy · Psychology of Moral and Emotional Judgment
The Collected Works of Jeremy Bentham
The Ends of HarmThe Moral Foundations of Criminal Law
The Schizophrenia of Modern Ethical Theories
The emotional dog and its rational tail
Skepticism about Practical Reason
Life Histories, Blood Revenge, and Warfare in a Tribal Population
Utilitarianism
Modern Moral Philosophy
The ‘Two Hats’ Problem in Consequentialist Ethics
Goldstick on the ‘Two Hats’ Problem
To navigate safely in the vast sea of empirical facts”
An Examination of Restricted Utilitarianism
Hume, Passion, and Action
Natural Goodness
Motive Utilitarianism
Sexual Morality
Norms of Revenge
A Deterrence Theory of Punishment
Primitive Economics of the New Zealand Maori (Routledge Revivals)
Materialist, cultural and biological theories on why Yanomami make war
Yanomami 'Violence
| Unique citing works | 3 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 1,5 |
| Citation span | 2024 - 2025 (2) |
| Citation velocity | recent |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 3 |