Study/Discussion Questions on Lukes, "Methodological Individualism Reconsidered."

1. Lukes distinguishes a number of different individualist theses. List these theses. Does Lukes reject them all, or does he accept some of them? Do some of these theses entail others, or are these theses logically independent?

2. Define "methodological individualism"

3. Lukes points out that the insistence that explanations be limited to facts about individuals is ambiguous, because there are many different kinds of facts about individuals. He gives examples of four different kinds (on p. 123). How would you characterize these different kinds of facts? How does Lukes' assessment of methodological individualism change, depending on how generous or stingy the methodological individualist is about what counts as a fact about and individual?

4. Is there anything right about methodological individualism?