Explaining Social Behavior

This book is an expanded and revised edition of the author's critically acclaimed volume Nuts and Bolts for the Social Sciences. In twenty-six succinct chapters, Jon Elster provides an account of the nature of explanation in the social sciences. He offers an overview of key explanatory mechanisms in the social sciences, relying on hundreds of examples and drawing on a large var...

This book is an expanded and revised edition of the author's critically acclaimed volume Nuts and Bolts for the Social Sciences. In twenty-six succinct chapters, Jon Elster provides an account of the nature of explanation in the social sciences. He offers an overview of key explanatory mechanisms in the social sciences, relying on hundreds of examples and drawing on a large variety of sources-psychology, behavioral economics, biology, political science, historical writings, philosophy and fiction. Written in accessible and jargon-free language, Elster aims at accuracy and clarity while eschewing formal models.

乔恩·埃尔斯特 (Jon Elster)

1940年出生于挪威，1972年于巴黎第五大学获得博士学位。现任美国哥伦比亚大学政治学教授。著名政治理论家，分析马克思主义的代表人物之一，研究领域包括政治理论、理性选择理论、社会科学哲学、制宪过程等。主要著作有《逻辑与社会》《理解马克思》《政治心理学 》《社会黏合剂：社会秩序的研究》等。