Morgan on deductive explanation: A rejoinder

1976 ◽  
Vol 5 (4) ◽  
pp. 527-543 ◽  
Author(s):  
Raimo Tuomela
Keyword(s):  
Deductive Explanation

Deductive Explanation in The Social Sciences

1973 ◽  
Vol 47 (1) ◽  
pp. 147-186
Author(s):  
Martin Hollis ◽  
Alan Ryan
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
The Social ◽  
Deductive Explanation

Deductive Explanation and Prediction Revisited

1967 ◽  
Vol 34 (1) ◽  
pp. 41-52 ◽  
Author(s):  
W. A. Suchting
Keyword(s):  
Deductive Explanation

Policy and Power: The Career of T'ao Chu 1956–66

1973 ◽  
Vol 54 ◽  
pp. 267-293 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter R. Moody
Keyword(s):  
Political Parties ◽  
The Other ◽  
The Political ◽  
Power Politics ◽  
Political Behaviour ◽  
Political Actors ◽  
Ambition Theory ◽  
Political Opinions ◽  
Contemporary Chinese ◽  
Deductive Explanation

“Kremlinological” approaches to the study of contemporary Chinese politics are sometimes criticized for seeming to embody the “rather crude view of politics being concerned with factional strife and power politics.” Certainly, for most politicians most of the time, it would be wrong as well as cynical to regard “power” as being the ultimate goal. On the other hand, few would deny that politics does, in part, involve factional strife and power politics, and some political scientists believe that political behaviour may be best explained through a focus on the play of power. Thus, Joseph Schlesinger explains certain aspects of American politics by what he calls “ambition theory”: “A politician's behavior is a response to his office goals.” Anthony Downs works out a good deductive explanation of the behaviour of political parties in a democracy by starting with the hypothesis that politicians act in a rational manner, espousing ideologies and policies which enable them to maintain or expand their power. The point of these hypotheses is not that politicians are an unusually venal race of men; the hypotheses do not purport to be accurate descriptions of political motivations. Rather, the assertion is that whatever the ultimate motives of political actors, an approach which hypothesizes that they will behave as though power were their goal does yield helpful and concise explanations of their behaviour. This article about the political career of one Chinese politician, T'ao Chu, from 1956 through 1966, will attempt to see how far hypotheses concentrating on “pure power” provide a useful explanation of events in comparison with those which give more weight to stated political opinions.

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