Individualism in Social Science: Forms and Limits of a Methodology

The central argument of this book is that methodological individualism--the view that all social phenomena are explicable in ways that only involve individuals--is seriously challenged by a different approach in social science called contextualism. At the outset of his book, Rajeev Bhargava designs a two-fold programme. First, to identify the significant versions of methodological individualism, and to assess both their plausibility and feasibility. Second, to articulate contextualism as a rival conception of social science and to show that it is superior to even the most plausible forms of methodological individualism. This book challenges this assumption by claiming that methodological individualism is neither trivial nor obviously true. The author presents this challenge by outlining an equally, if not more, credible non-individualist alternative. The dispute over individualism versus holism in social science is best treated here.