The opposition between individual autonomy and social determinism: a controversy by now settled? Proposals and approaches of social research.

This paper analyses complex methodological individualism within the debate around individual autonomy and social determinism. It is shown how this approach constitutes an alternative both to methodological individualism and method-ological collectivism. The paper then poses an open question as to whether this kind of individual/social opposition might be superseded by new trends in social research, looking at natural determinisms instead of individual deliberate action or social pressures.