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Useful Fiction or Miracle Maker: The Competing Epistemological Foundations of Rational Choice Theory

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  • MacDONALD, PAUL K.

Abstract

Rational choice theorists have not clearly articulated their epistemological positions, and for this reason, their arguments in favor of rational choice theory are inconsistent, contradictory, and unpersuasive. To remedy this problem, I describe how two of the main positions in the philosophy of science, instrumentalist-empiricism and scientific-realism, act as competing epistemological foundations for rational choice theory. I illustrate how these philosophical perspectives help political scientists (1) understand what is at stake in the theoretical debates surrounding the rationality assumption, self-interest, and methodological individualism, (2) identify inconsistencies in the epistemological positions adopted by rational choice theorists, and (3) assess the feasibility and desirability of a universal theory based on the rationality assumption.

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  • MacDONALD, PAUL K., 2003. "Useful Fiction or Miracle Maker: The Competing Epistemological Foundations of Rational Choice Theory," American Political Science Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 97(4), pages 551-565, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:cup:apsrev:v:97:y:2003:i:04:p:551-565_00
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    Cited by:

    1. Gulrajani, Nilima, 2010. "Challenging global accountability: the intersection of contracts and culture in the World Bank," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 30045, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    2. Etienne, Julien, 2010. "The impact of regulatory policy on individual behaviour: a goal framing theory approach," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 36541, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    3. Norman Frohlich & Joe Oppenheimer, 2006. "Skating on Thin Ice," Journal of Theoretical Politics, , vol. 18(3), pages 235-266, July.
    4. Iain Hampsher‐Monk & Andrew Hindmoor, 2010. "Rational Choice and Interpretive Evidence: Caught between a Rock and a Hard Place?," Political Studies, Political Studies Association, vol. 58(1), pages 47-65, February.
    5. James Johnson, 2010. "What Rationality Assumption? Or, How ‘Positive Political Theory’ Rests on a Mistake," Political Studies, Political Studies Association, vol. 58(2), pages 282-299, March.
    6. Sebastian Rosato, 2011. "On the Democratic Peace," Chapters, in: Christopher J. Coyne & Rachel L. Mathers (ed.), The Handbook on the Political Economy of War, chapter 15, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    7. Frank Lovett, 2006. "Rational Choice Theory and Explanation," Rationality and Society, , vol. 18(2), pages 237-272, May.
    8. Carly Beckerman, 2022. "Political Fragility and the Timing of Conflict Mediation," Social Sciences, MDPI, vol. 11(2), pages 1-19, February.

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