THE INDIVIDUALISM-HOLISM PROBLEM IN SOCIOLOGICAL-RESEARCH

This paper treats the problem of which type of units, individuals or w hole societies, should be used when explaining societal phenomena. It is argued that factors operating at the individual level in principle form societies, and that societal phenomena therefore should ideally b e explained at this level. However, it is also argued that many societ al phenomena cannot in practice be analyzed at the individual level in a clear and strict way, but rather must be analyzed holistically, bec ause it is not known how they are related to individual factors due to the complexity of societies. For societies to be described and analyz ed in a clear and strict way, they must as a rule be much simplified, and such simplification is often made easier by abandoning the individ ualistic perspective. If researchers still wish to describe a connecti on between individual factors and a societal phenomenon, they often mu st do so in vague terms. There are also other problems with the indivi dualistic perspective that make it difficult to use. However, using th e holistic perspective may be risky, as shown by two hypothetical exam ples.