Skip to content
Register Sign in Wishlist

Models of Man
Philosophical Thoughts on Social Action

£49.00

Part of Cambridge Philosophy Classics

Geoffrey Hawthorn
View all contributors
  • Date Published: October 2015
  • availability: Available
  • format: Hardback
  • isbn: 9781107113763

£ 49.00
Hardback

Add to cart Add to wishlist

Other available formats:
Paperback, eBook


Looking for an inspection copy?

This title is not currently available on inspection

Description
Product filter button
Description
Contents
Resources
Courses
About the Authors
  • All social theorists and philosophers who seek to explain human action have a 'model of man'; a metaphysical view of human nature that requires its own theory of scientific knowledge. In this influential book, Martin Hollis examines the tensions that arise from the differing views of sociologists, economists and psychologists. He then develops a rationalist model of his own which connects personal and social identity through a theory of rational action and a priori knowledge, allowing humans to both act freely and still be a subject for scientific explanation. Presented in a fresh series livery and including a specially commissioned preface written by Geoffrey Hawthorn, Hollis's important work is made available to a new generation of readers.

    • Unique to Cambridge, this classic book has been revived and rebranded for a twenty-first-century readership
    • Proposes an account of human action that allows us to act freely while being subjects for scientific explanation
    • Offers an accessible and engaging exploration of metaphysical views of human nature
    • Features a specially commissioned Preface written by Geoffrey Hawthorn
    Read more

    Reviews & endorsements

    '[Hollis's] extremely clear, sharp, witty style … makes the entire book very well worth reading. I find his central point entirely persuasive, and it may well be that his careful and courteous defence of it will be the best way to bring it home to those who still see witchcraft in any suggestion that the world must be explained in different ways for different purposes.' Philosophy

    'Why do human beings behave in detail exactly as they do and not in some other way? What, if anything, causes them so to act? How can we validly explain the fact that they do in practice act this way and not differently? … It is the distinctive merit of Martin Hollis's exceedingly clever … little book to ram home the priority of these vertiginous metaphysical questions to any intellectually coherent attempt to understand one another, individually or by the gross. Radical interpretation is simply the stuff of human life; and the social sciences are radical interpretation on stilts.' New Society

    See more reviews

    Customer reviews

    Not yet reviewed

    Be the first to review

    Review was not posted due to profanity

    ×

    , create a review

    (If you're not , sign out)

    Please enter the right captcha value
    Please enter a star rating.
    Your review must be a minimum of 12 words.

    How do you rate this item?

    ×

    Product details

    • Date Published: October 2015
    • format: Hardback
    • isbn: 9781107113763
    • length: 172 pages
    • dimensions: 235 x 159 x 13 mm
    • weight: 0.38kg
    • contains: 6 b/w illus.
    • availability: Available
  • Table of Contents

    Preface to this edition Geoffrey Hawthorn
    Preface
    1. Two models
    Part I. Plastic Man:
    2. Nature and nurture
    3. The regularity of the moral world
    Part II. Autonomous Man:
    4. Life's short comedy
    5. Personal identity and social identity
    6. Elements of action
    Part III. Other Minds:
    7. The rational and the real
    8. Ideal understanding
    9. Envoi: actor and context
    Bibliography
    Index of names.

  • Author

    Martin Hollis
    Martin Hollis (1938–98) was a philosopher of the social sciences and game theory and is best known for his rationalism. He was Head of the Department of Philosophy at the University of East Anglia and eventually Pro-Vice-Chancellor until his death in 1998.

    Contributors

    Geoffrey Hawthorn

Related Books

Sorry, this resource is locked

Please register or sign in to request access. If you are having problems accessing these resources please email [email protected]

Register Sign in
Please note that this file is password protected. You will be asked to input your password on the next screen.

» Proceed

You are now leaving the Cambridge University Press website. Your eBook purchase and download will be completed by our partner www.ebooks.com. Please see the permission section of the www.ebooks.com catalogue page for details of the print & copy limits on our eBooks.

Continue ×

Continue ×

Continue ×
warning icon

Turn stock notifications on?

You must be signed in to your Cambridge account to turn product stock notifications on or off.

Sign in Create a Cambridge account arrow icon
×

Find content that relates to you

Join us online

This site uses cookies to improve your experience. Read more Close

Are you sure you want to delete your account?

This cannot be undone.

Cancel

Thank you for your feedback which will help us improve our service.

If you requested a response, we will make sure to get back to you shortly.

×
Please fill in the required fields in your feedback submission.
×