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.