Social structural explanation

Bibliographic Data

ID5149797
AuthorsValerie Soon (0000-0001-5055-5475, Stanford University, corresponding author)
Year2021
Volume16
Issue10
Publication date2021-10-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenuePhilosophy Compass (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1747-9991 • E-ISSN: 1747-9991
PublisherWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1111/phc3.12782
OpenAlexW3202550770
LanguageEN
Citations received14
References cited48

Social problems such as racism, sexism, and inequality are often cited as structural rather than individual in nature. What does it mean to invoke a social structural explanation, and how do such explanations relate to individualistic ones? This article explores recent philosophical debates concerning the nature and usages of social structural explanation. I distinguish between two central kinds of social structural explanation: those that are autonomous from psychology, and those that are not. This distinction will help clarify the explanatory power that each type of SSE has, points of convergence with methodological traditions such as critical theory and rational choice theory, and the difficulties that each type of SSE faces

Economics · Epistemology · Explanatory power · Individualism · Methodological individualism · Political science · Racism · Sociology · Critical Realism in Sociology · Feminist Epistemology and Gender Studies · Philosophy · Philosophy and History of Science · Psychology · Social Psychology

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