International Relations. A self-Study Guide to Theory

 
On methodological individualism
Kidd, Andrew H. 2008: Methodological Individualism and Rational Choice, in: Reus-Smit, 
Christian/Snidal, Duncan (eds.): The Oxford Handbook of International Relations. Ox-
ford: Oxford University Press, 425-443. 
Snidal, Duncan 2002: Rational Choice and International Relations, in: Carlsnaes, Wal-
ter/Risse, Thomas/Simmons, Beth A. (eds.): Handbook of International Relations. 
London: Sage, 73-94. 
On reductionism 
Charles, David/Lennon, Kathleen (eds.) 1992: Reduction, explanation and realism. Oxford: 
Oxford University Press. 
Jaegwon, Kim 2005: Physicalism, or something near enough. Princeton: Princeton Univer-
sity Press. 
Kolakowski, Leszek 1969: The Alienation of Reason: A History of Positivist Thought. 
New York: Anchor Books. 
On explanations 
Wendt 1998: On constitution and causation in International Relations, in: Review of Inter-
national Studies 24, 101-117. 
Dessler, David 1991: Beyond Correlations. Towards a causal theory of war, in: Interna-
tional Studies Quarterly 35, 337-355. 
Van Fraassen, C. 2008: The world of empiricism, in: Hilgevoord, Jan (ed.): Physics and 
our view of the world. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 114-134. 
Hollis, Martin/Smith, Steve 1990: Explaining and Understanding International Relations. 
Oxford: Clarendon Press. 
On hermeneutics and understanding 
Baumann, Zygmunt 1978: Hermeneutics and Social Science. London: Hutchinson. 
Outhwaite, William 1975: Understanding Social Life: The Method called “Verstehen”. 
London: Allen & Unwin. 
Rabinov, Paul/Sullivan, William M. (eds.) 1979: Interpretative Social Science: A Second 
Look. University of California Press.
Hollis, Martin/Smith, Steve 1990: Explaining and Understanding International Relations. 
Oxford: Clarendon Press. 

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66 
References in the text 
Czempiel, Ernst-Otto 1965: The Development of the Study of International Relations (in 
German), in: Politische Vierteljahresschrift 6: 3, 270-290. 
Kaplan, Morton A. 1961: Is International Relations a Discipline?, in: The Journal of Poli-
tics 23: 3. 
Kaplan, Morton A. 1969: The New Great Debate. Traditionalism vs. Science in Interna-
tional Relations, in: Knorr, Klaus/Rosenau, James (eds.): Contending Approaches to 
International Relations. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 39-61. 
Kidd, Andrew H. 2008: Methodological Individualism and Rational Choice, in: Reus-Smit, 
Christian/Snidal, Duncan (eds.): The Oxford Handbook of International Relations. Ox-
ford: Oxford University Press, 425-443. 
Kuhn, Thomas 1962: The Structure of Scientific Revolutions. Chicago 
Lakatos, Imre 1970: Falsification and the Methodology of Scientific Research, in: Laka-
tos/Musgrave (eds.): Criticism and the Growth of Knowledge, Cambridge. 
Oppenheim and Putnam 1958: The Unity of Science as a Working Hypotheses, in Minne-
sota Studies in the Philosophy of Science. 
Popper, Karl 1959: The Logic of Scientific Discovery. London (first 1935 in German). 
Smith, Steve 1996: Positivism and beyond, in: Smith, Steve/Booth, Ken/Zalewski, Marysia 
(eds.): International Theory: Positivism and Beyond. Cambridge: Cambridge Universi-
ty Press, 11-44. 
Wight, Colin 2002: Philosophy of Social Science and International Relations, in: Carls-
naes, Walter/Risse, Thomas/Simmons, Beth A. (eds.): Handbook of International Rela-
tions. London: Sage, 23-51. 
Wight, Colin 2006: Agents, Structures and International Relations. Politics as Ontology. 
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 
Weber, Max 1949: Max Weber on the Methodology of the Social Sciences. New York: 
The Free Press. 

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67 
3. World views and the idea of science in the 
history of European philosophy 
Learning steps
Introduction ......................................................................................................... 
68 
Step 1: 
World views ...................................................................................................... 
69 
Step 2: 
Scientific world views .................................................................................... 
74 
2.1. 
Greek Antiquity ...................................................................................... 
74 
2.2. 
The European Middle Ages and Renaissance ........................................ 
78 
2.3. 
Scientific revolution and the rise of Cartesian-Newtonian science ........ 
80 
Copernicus, Galileo, Kepler: The rise of experimental science ............. 
80 
Descartes and Newton ............................................................................ 
82 
Summary 
................................................................................................ 
85 
2.4. 
Cartesian-Newtonian science in transition? “New physics” and the rise 
of a new scientific world view? .............................................................. 
88 
2.4.1. Einstein and atomic physics ................................................................... 
90 
The dual nature of light .......................................................................... 
90 
Time, space, matter and energy .............................................................. 
90 
Elementary particles ............................................................................... 
92 
2.4.2. Quantum physics .................................................................................... 
92 
Summary 
................................................................................................ 
97 
Prospects 
................................................................................................. 
99 
Why is this discussion a relevant one? ................................................... 
100 
Step 3: 
Self-study and consolidation ........................................................................ 
102 
Step 4: 
Discussion .......................................................................................................... 
102 

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68 
Introduction 
The core argument developed in Unit 1 of this book holds that the history of 
IR theory is part of a two-fold process: the historical process of centralization 
and consolidation of power by which the modern state and the modern states 
system have been historically formed in Europe and which is simultaneously 
a process of increasing systematic reflection on inter-state relations in the 
fields of philosophy, political theory and international law. This process of 
reflection was driven by the rising social and political significance of inter-
state relations for societies. Put differently: in terms of the history of thought,