Abstract

Ordinary rationality theory (ORT) picks up Weber’s famous distinction between instrumental rationality and axiological rationality. Nonetheless, Boudon does not incorporate the affective or traditional dimensions proposed by the great German scholar. However, he adds a cognitive dimension which proves decisive. Modelled in this way, the reasons for acting or believing become the heart of a method for social science to analyse human behaviour. Boudon establishes an inextricable link between these individual reasons, the initial social contexts, and the resulting collective effects. This manner of explaining social phenomena allows for an avoidance of many pitfalls: between naturalism which denies reasons and constructivism which puts them in the forefront. Finally, this theory positions itself between: on one hand, the positivists, Marxists, and theoreticians of whatever approach, who only see social, economic, and biological causes determining behaviour; and, on the other hand, the utilitarians, rational choice theoreticians (RCT), or bounded rationality theoreticians (BRT), who see only self-serving, indeed selfish and maximizing reasons behind this behaviour. Clearly, Boudon’s proposition is aiming for the greatest possible realism.