SOCI 3692 Lecture Notes - Lecture 6: Social Fact, Methodological Individualism, Observability
21 Dec 2017
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Less a discrete class of objects than an approach. Motivation takes the form of rational self interest. They will act more or less individual of their rational self interest. Their actions, their individual will may be limited by themselves. When we speak of free will, it doesn"t mean that you can do whatever you want. Society has to be understood as the sum of all individual"s actions. There is no such thing as society, there are only individuals and their families margaret. It can be limited by the actions of other people. It can be limited by the unintended consequences of the individual. We saw in many ways that society is not the sum of individual actions. The social fact exists external to the individual. They might not always be felt as constraining. One may act in a way that is constraining without realizing it. The social fact has to be general. A social fact has to be a fact.
