Description
All social theorists and philosophers who seek to explain human action have a 'model of man'; a metaphysical view of human nature that requires its own theory of scientific knowledge. In this influential book, Martin Hollis examines the tensions that arise from the differing views of sociologists, economists and psychologists. He then develops a rationalist model of his own which connects personal and social identity through a theory of rational action and a priori knowledge, allowing humans to both act freely and still be a subject for scientific explanation. Presented in a fresh series livery and including a specially commissioned preface written by Geoffrey Hawthorn, Hollis's important work is made available to a new generation of readers.
This classic book is Martin Hollis's influential rationalist account and exploration of human action and identity.
About the Author
Martin Hollis (1938-98) was a philosopher of the social sciences and game theory and is best known for his rationalism. He was Head of the Department of Philosophy at the University of East Anglia and eventually Pro-Vice-Chancellor until his death in 1998.
Reviews
'[Hollis's] extremely clear, sharp, witty style ... makes the entire book very well worth reading. I find his central point entirely persuasive, and it may well be that his careful and courteous defence of it will be the best way to bring it home to those who still see witchcraft in any suggestion that the world must be explained in different ways for different purposes.' Philosophy
'Why do human beings behave in detail exactly as they do and not in some other way? What, if anything, causes them so to act? How can we validly explain the fact that they do in practice act this way and not differently? ... It is the distinctive merit of Martin Hollis's exceedingly clever ... little book to ram home the priority of these vertiginous metaphysical questions to any intellectually coherent attempt to understand one another, individually or by the gross. Radical interpretation is simply the stuff of human life; and the social sciences are radical interpretation on stilts.' New Society
Book Information
ISBN 9781107534377
Author Martin Hollis
Format Paperback
Page Count 172
Imprint Cambridge University Press
Publisher Cambridge University Press
Weight(grams) 250g
Dimensions(mm) 228mm * 152mm * 9mm
This classic book is Martin Hollis's influential rationalist account and exploration of human action and identity.
About the Author
Martin Hollis (1938-98) was a philosopher of the social sciences and game theory and is best known for his rationalism. He was Head of the Department of Philosophy at the University of East Anglia and eventually Pro-Vice-Chancellor until his death in 1998.
Reviews
'[Hollis's] extremely clear, sharp, witty style ... makes the entire book very well worth reading. I find his central point entirely persuasive, and it may well be that his careful and courteous defence of it will be the best way to bring it home to those who still see witchcraft in any suggestion that the world must be explained in different ways for different purposes.' Philosophy
'Why do human beings behave in detail exactly as they do and not in some other way? What, if anything, causes them so to act? How can we validly explain the fact that they do in practice act this way and not differently? ... It is the distinctive merit of Martin Hollis's exceedingly clever ... little book to ram home the priority of these vertiginous metaphysical questions to any intellectually coherent attempt to understand one another, individually or by the gross. Radical interpretation is simply the stuff of human life; and the social sciences are radical interpretation on stilts.' New Society
Book Information
ISBN 9781107534377
Author Martin Hollis
Format Paperback
Page Count 172
Imprint Cambridge University Press
Publisher Cambridge University Press
Weight(grams) 250g
Dimensions(mm) 228mm * 152mm * 9mm
