구조와 행위자 관계에 관한 신제도주의 이론들의 함의 연구:구조-제도·사상-행위자 삼분론의 정립을 위하여

Abstract

The relation between structure and agent is one of the most important and moot points in social science. In general, structure-determinism and agent-reductionism which are driven to extremes are criticized at present. However, giving to priority to structure or agent is effective in social science in order to explain complicated social situations. While theoretical anti-humanism and methodological individualism have been devised to solve this moot point, those can not overcome each inclination. Consequently, the issue on the relation between structure and agent is not elucidated. The issue on the relation between structure and agent is related to not only social science but also the humanities, especially the philosophical view of the world and epistemology. In other words, it is reflected in the difference of view of the world. Since the debate on Durkheim’s Social Substantialism and Spencer’s Social Nominalism, many social scientists have tried to elucidate this point, but it is estimated that this point can not come to a satisfactory settlement. This paper tries to settle the issue on the relation between structure and agent by the medium of new institutional theories of politcal economics. Structure is not a substance but a social property, and restrains agents. On the other hand, agent can preverse and develop structure by the way of creating suitable institutions under the restrictions of structure. Even though the previous ‘structure-institution-agent’ trilateral theory can explain the maintenance and development of structure, it has a limitation that is not able to elucidate the agent’s capacity to transform established structures. Hence, in order to explicat structural changes, the paper induces the category of idea which is regarded as an element of institution in institutionalism. Especially this paper divides idea into a world-view idea which is related to the maintence or abolition of structure and a functional idea that is connected with the preservation of structure. The latter is a idea as a constituent element of institution, the former contains agents’ value estimations about a structure that can bring about a structural change. This paper regards a structure as not a sunstance but a social property, and unifes it with agents whose idea and behavior can exhibit a structural property. Also this paper proposes the ‘structural-institution·idea-agent’ trilateral theory that introduces institution and idea as the medium connected structure with agent, in order to be able to escaped from the vicious circulation that the existing theories to attempt unifing structure with agent has been encountered with. To elaborate this trilateral theory, it must be required not only more detail examinations on the conceptual definition about structure, institution, idea, agent but also more plentiful case studies. However this paper’s goal is limited to propose the possibility of materialization of the trilateral theory through the tentative theoretical composition.