Methodological Individualism

Why methodological individualism? 343mentalism and the doctrine of social or cultural environmentalism’ (1957:324). 33 Of the latter variety, two in particular; sociology of knowledge andbehaviourism, have been subjected to the criticism of methodological individualists.The trouble with sociology of knowledge is that it seems to imply that ideasare socially determined to an extent that makes free and rational discussionimpossible or illusory. 34The most radical form of social or cultural environmentalism (and scientism,and determinism) is behaviourism. This doctrine depicts man as a passive orreactive being completely determined by his environment, but withoutconsciousness, free will and reason. Behaviourism, therefore, is in obvious oppositionto individualist humanism, and not only implicitly, but explicitly as well.According to B.F. Skinner (the foremost contemporary representative ofbehaviourism) individualist humanism is the main obstacle to the adoption ofthe scientific outlook, and of behaviourism in particular, in the study and runningof human affairs. But in a future beyond freedom and dignityenvironmental contingencies now take over functions once attributed toautonomous man, and certain questions arise. Is man then abolished?Certainly not as a species or as an individual achiever. It is autonomousinner man who is abolished, and that is a step forward.(Skinner, 1974: 210)The behaviourist image of man must appear repulsive to anyone committedto the beliefs and values of individualist humanism. We should expect, therefore,an attitude of hostility towards behaviourism on the part of the majority ofmethodological individualists. This is also what we find. There is a tendencyamong (non-behaviourist) methodological individualists to dismiss behaviourismas too obviously wrong to be worthy of any serious consideration. 35 More specifically,methodological individualists dissociate themselves from behaviourism onthe following issues: most methodological individualists defend a mind-bodydualism against the monism of behaviourism. 36 Most methodological individualistsdefend an activist epistemology against the inductivism of behaviourism.Weber, Mises and Hayek, in particular, insist that social science is about humanaction, as distinguished from behaviour (see chapter 4). Most important, for mypresent purpose, methodological individualists reject behaviourism because,being deterministic, it explains away the unique in man; his consciousness, freewill and reason, and because determinism is coupled with utopian dreams abouta future society based on human engineering, dreams the behaviourist is allegedto share with the believers in holism, collectivism and historicism.Holism, collectivism and historicism; these are the doctrines methodologicalindividualism was originally invented to combat. According to many methodologicalindividualists, holism, collectivism and historicism are, not onlyerroneous, but dangerous. By suggesting that the race, nation, state or class hasinterests of its own, distinct from the interests of its members, and by suggestingalso that this collective is destined to play a special role in history, this trinity of