Hardback
Unintended Consequences and the Social Sciences
An Intellectual History
9781035318032 Edward Elgar Publishing
Illustrating the knowledge and ideas of thinkers such as Mandeville, Hume, Montesquieu and Smith, this book fully investigates the entire panorama of social sciences as well as providing a clear and concise analysis of the history of the social sciences from the point at which evolutionary theory entered the field.
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Critical Acclaim
Contents
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Illustrating the knowledge and ideas of thinkers such as Mandeville, Hume, Montesquieu and Smith, this book fully investigates the entire panorama of social sciences as well as providing a clear and concise analysis of the history of the social sciences from the point at which evolutionary theory entered the field.
Examining the history of culture and humanity, Lorenzo Infantino discusses the ‘discovery of society,’ when people stopped seeing behind every social phenomenon the direct action of human and/or divine will, and how the subsequent void was filled by the unintended creation of language, habits, customs, laws and public power. Focussing on the idea that the object of social sciences should be the study of unintended consequences, Infantino also expertly reviews the approach of ‘methodological individualism’. Forward-thinking, the book highlights the need for a rule of law in cultural evolution to prevent harm to others and allow a greater freedom of choice when deciding future actions.
Providing an in-depth explanation of why the social sciences are needed and highlighting the task of a social scientist, this book will be invaluable for researchers in the fields of politics, economics and sociology.
Examining the history of culture and humanity, Lorenzo Infantino discusses the ‘discovery of society,’ when people stopped seeing behind every social phenomenon the direct action of human and/or divine will, and how the subsequent void was filled by the unintended creation of language, habits, customs, laws and public power. Focussing on the idea that the object of social sciences should be the study of unintended consequences, Infantino also expertly reviews the approach of ‘methodological individualism’. Forward-thinking, the book highlights the need for a rule of law in cultural evolution to prevent harm to others and allow a greater freedom of choice when deciding future actions.
Providing an in-depth explanation of why the social sciences are needed and highlighting the task of a social scientist, this book will be invaluable for researchers in the fields of politics, economics and sociology.
Critical Acclaim
‘This slim, densely packed book unfolds as a sequence of surveys of thinkers from times past who took their analytical object to be society, which they conceptualized as an emergent product of human interaction. Among the thinkers Infantino surveys are Bernard de Mandeville, Francis Hutchison, David Hume, Adam Smith, Edmund Burke, and Herbert Spencer.''
– Richard E. Wagner, The Review of Austrian Economics
‘The questions raised by this short study of unintended consequences in the Enlightenment science of man will be of great interest to all students of the history of the social sciences and of the relationship of social science to both politics and religion.’
– Ryan Patrick Hanley, Boston College, US
‘A learned journey through the challenges of understanding unintended consequences in European thought. From antiquity to modernity, unintended consequences have been morphed into intentions of either magical forces, deities, or some form of supreme rationality. Infantino eruditely walks us through how we eventually arrived at a genuine understanding of unintentionality.’
– Maria Pia Paganelli, Trinity University, US
‘Infantino provides an essential contribution in understanding the intellectual history of “the problem of unintended consequences”. Emphasizing the continued importance of Hume, Smith, Hutcheson, and Montesquieu to problems of social organization and the dangers of expertise, Infantino provides a book of both great scholarly scope and contemporary relevance.’
– Marianne Johnson, University of Wisconsin, Oshkosh, US
– Richard E. Wagner, The Review of Austrian Economics
‘The questions raised by this short study of unintended consequences in the Enlightenment science of man will be of great interest to all students of the history of the social sciences and of the relationship of social science to both politics and religion.’
– Ryan Patrick Hanley, Boston College, US
‘A learned journey through the challenges of understanding unintended consequences in European thought. From antiquity to modernity, unintended consequences have been morphed into intentions of either magical forces, deities, or some form of supreme rationality. Infantino eruditely walks us through how we eventually arrived at a genuine understanding of unintentionality.’
– Maria Pia Paganelli, Trinity University, US
‘Infantino provides an essential contribution in understanding the intellectual history of “the problem of unintended consequences”. Emphasizing the continued importance of Hume, Smith, Hutcheson, and Montesquieu to problems of social organization and the dangers of expertise, Infantino provides a book of both great scholarly scope and contemporary relevance.’
– Marianne Johnson, University of Wisconsin, Oshkosh, US
Contents
Contents: Preface 1. The problem of the unintended consequences of human actions 2. Pierre Bayle and Bernard de Mandeville 3. Francis Hutcheson and David Hume 4. Charles-Louis de Montesquieu and Adam Smith 5. Initial continuities and discontinuities 6. Additional considerations References Index
