This book is an expanded and revised edition of the author's critically acclaimed volume Nuts and Bolts for the Social Sciences. In twenty-six succinct chapters, Jon Elster provides an account of the nature of explanation in the social sciences. He offers an overview of key explanatory mechanisms in the social sciences, relying on hundreds of examples and drawing on a large variety of sources-psychology, behavioral economics, biology, political science, historical writings, philosophy and fiction. Written in accessible and jargon-free language, Elster aims at accuracy and clarity while eschewing formal models.

《社会理论的基础(套装全上下册)》是社会学领域理性选择学派主将詹姆斯•科尔曼的代表作。《社会理论的基础(套装全上下册)》是回应社会系统是如何行动的这一核心问题的。《社会理论的基础(套装全上下册)》共分五编，从最基本的人的行动和关系谈起一直论述到复杂的社会行动的数学分析。内容详尽，由浅入深，理论性强。