Analytical Action Theory as a Conceptual Basis of Social Science

Abstract

In ‘A Theory of Social Action’ (Dordrecht, 1984) Tuomela has presented the first elaborated attempt at specifying the foundations of social science in a way explicit and precise enough to meet the standards of contemporary philosophy of science. The theory is not meant to cover social life completely. But it is meant to cover that part which is presumed to be most genuinely human and therefore most important to us, viz. action. Starting from a precise and comprehensive definition of ‘social action’ Tuomela’s theory claims to account for a wide range of concepts used by social scientists (including ‘norm’, ‘role’, ‘group’, ‘organization’, ‘community’, and ‘society’) and to clarify what ‘explanation’ in social science amounts to. The paper under discussion exhibits in a concise way the fundamental conceptual apparatus and shows how it applies to three representative examples of social action.