Talk:Mechanism (sociology)

Wrong definition
I'm not exactly a sociologist per se, but being very familiar with the social sciences I can clearly tell that whoever made this article gave it an incorrect definition. A mechanism is indeed a rule (or a set of rules), but a mechanism does not itself imply that actors are utility-maximizing agents. My proposition is that this article be renamed Mechanism (social science) and that a correct, referenced definition be given. --m3taphysical (talk) 00:18, 16 June 2009 (UTC)


 * I agree with M3taphysical that a mechanism does not necessarily implies that actors are utility-maximizing agents. In rational-choice theory, that might be the case, but not in a broad, sociological sense. So I simply removed that part of the sentence. However, the article does need more body then it currently has. Cypers (talk) 09:34, 20 October 2009 (UTC)


 * Can you provide a reference for how "mechanism" is used in sociology? That's the first thing this stub is lacking. C RETOG 8(t/c) 09:54, 20 October 2009 (UTC)

Mechanism as sociological concept
Most of this article has been taken from "What is anaylitical sociology all about? An introductory essay" in The Oxford Handbook of Analytical Sociology (Peter Hedström and Peter Bearman 2009). The chapter makes it clear that the concepts mechanism and mechanism-based explanation "have more to do with philosophy of science than with sociology proper". Then is it possible to talk about "mechanism" as a sociological concept? The accuracy of the article's title seems disputable to me. --Pablo.ea.92 (talk) 02:41, 10 June 2012 (UTC)


 * The mechanism (sociology)article is in need of improvement. I've tagged it as having multiple issues, removed some unsourced statements, and linked it to Mechanism_(philosophy).  Previous editors the article seem unaware of the 'mechanistic'|'organic' analytic distinction that dates back to at least Aristotle and is a major underpinning of several sociological theories.  The article is categorized as 'sociological terminology', so may warrant existence, though I would not object were it to be tagged AfD.  Meclee (talk) 16:34, 10 June 2012 (UTC)