New York University.
Br J Sociol. 2018 Jun;69(2):237-264. doi: 10.1111/1468-4446.12320. Epub 2017 Oct 25.
I propose an agenda for empirical research on decision, choice, decision-makers, and decision-making qua social facts. Given society S, group G, or field F, I make a twofold sociological proposal. First, empirically investigate the conditions under which something-call it X-is taken to be a decision or choice, or the outcome of a decision-making process. What must X be like? What doesn't count (besides, presumably, myotatic reflexes and blushing)? Whom or what must X be done by? What can't be a decision-maker (besides, presumably, rocks and apples)? Second, empirically investigate how decision/choice concepts are used in everyday life, politics, business, education, law, technology, and science. What are they used for? To what extent do people understand and represent themselves and others as decision-makers? Where do decision-centric or "decisionist" understandings succeed? These aren't armchair, theoretical, philosophical questions, but empirical ones. Decision/choice concepts' apparent ubiquity in contemporary societies calls for a well-thought-out research program on their social life and uses.
我提议制定一个关于决策、选择、决策者和决策作为社会事实的实证研究议程。给定社会 S、群体 G 或领域 F,我提出了双重社会学建议。首先,实证研究在什么条件下,将某事——称之为 X——视为决策或选择,或决策过程的结果。X 必须具有什么特点?什么不被视为决策或选择(除了,大概,肌反射和脸红)?X 必须由谁或什么来完成?什么不能成为决策者(除了,大概,石头和苹果)?其次,实证研究决策/选择概念在日常生活、政治、商业、教育、法律、技术和科学中的使用方式。它们用于什么目的?人们在多大程度上理解和将自己和他人理解为决策者?以决策为中心或以“决策主义”为理解的地方在哪里取得成功?这些不是空谈、理论或哲学问题,而是实证问题。决策/选择概念在当代社会中的明显普遍性需要对其社会生活和用途进行深思熟虑的研究计划。