REALITY AND LEVELS OF REALITY - CAN MACROLOGY ALWAYS BE BASED ON MICROLOGY

This contribution to the discussion on the issue concerning the connec tions between micrology and macrology, an issue which is unseparable f rom the problem arising when explaining social sciences, has five obje ctives. First of all, it is shown that the most common definition of m icro and macro, based on size, is partial and erroneous. It is in fact necessary to introduce a tri-dimensional theory which takes into acco unt, initially, and above all, the nature of the problem to be solved, then the type of hypothesis or simplification adopted in order to rep ly, lastly the nature of the observation unit and the analysis which m ust be appropriate as regards the first dimension. Second, this articl e proposes to develop a typology based on the three dimensions and ta summarize in different categories all sociological and economic theori es. Third, it is shown that a large number of debates and controversie s among these different theories were due to micro-macro relations. Fo urth, there is an analysis of the solutions put forward for the proble ms arising from these relations, and an explanation why certain theori es failed. Fifth, and last, it is shown that not a single theory offer s a unique solution to micro-macro relations even though certain theor ies would appear more applicable than others.