Is an Interdisciplinary Approach Possible in the Social Sciences?

Abstract

This paper summarizes the assumptions of interdiscipliniarity in the social sciences set against the methodological debate on the use of public choice theory in studying European integration. In the first part, it applies the sociology of knowledge to the normative and epistemological assumptions of social science. In the second part, it uses rational choice theory to confront individual actors' motives. The concluding part suggests patterns of desirable approaches to interdisciplinary studies of European integration.

Keywords

• Interdisciplinary approach
• epistemology of social science
• rational choice