Individualism versus holism /

The conceptual relationship between "individualism" and "holism" is one of the most vexing issues in the social sciences. Individualism and holism (from the Greek holos, meaning "whole") can be used to characterize both societies and methodologies. While these issues ar...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Bouvier, Alban
Other Authors: Atkinson, Paul, 1947- (Editor), Delamont, Sara, 1947- (Editor), Cernat, Alexandru (Editor), Sakshaug, Joseph W. (Editor), Williams, Richard A., active 2020 (Editor)
Format: eBook
Language:English
Published: London : SAGE Publications Ltd., 2020.
Series:Explanation and interpretation.
Subjects:
Online Access:Connect to the full text of this electronic book
Description
Summary:The conceptual relationship between "individualism" and "holism" is one of the most vexing issues in the social sciences. Individualism and holism (from the Greek holos, meaning "whole") can be used to characterize both societies and methodologies. While these issues are related, the distinction between them is quite complex. This entry focuses on the second issue and addresses the first only indirectly. Methodological individualism (MI) emerged in the social sciences in the late 19th century as a critical viewpoint. Roughly speaking, MI claims that one should always consider social phenomenaincluding groups, institutions, and social structures (e.g., social stratification)as products of human actions and interactions. As a consequence, one should never assume that collective concepts, such as "German nation," "Roman Catholic Church," "Soviet Communism," or "Western capitalism," ...
Physical Description:1 online resource.
Bibliography:Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN:9781529746587
1529746582
9781526421036
1526421038