ABSTRACT
The methodological reflections or the ‘critical attitude’ which provide a basis for Boudon’s substantive work represent, to a large extent, his concern with the relation between empirical and conceptual activity. His critique is, however, limited by the central or exclusive role accorded to epistemological issues to the detriment of ontological ones. This generates the paradoxical view described by Outhwaite (1987: 19) as ‘the apparently robust epistemologies which allow us to be certain about our experiences but not that of which they are experiences (the external world, other minds, or even our own bodies)’.
