Boudon, Raymond

(1934- )

   sociologist

   An internationally renowned, and one of the most influential of contemporary sociologists, Raymond Boudon was born in Paris and educated at the École Normale superieure. He is a leading proponent of the tradition of methodological individualism (L'Analyse mathématique des faits sociaux, 1967). This sociological tradition rejects holistic concepts and is founded on theories of individual interaction (La Logique du social, 1973). After having studied scholastic inequality (L'Inégalité des chances, 1973), Boudon demonstrated, in Effets pervers et Ordre social (1977), how a series of actions can end in a contrary result to that which was desired; thus, the multiplication of the number of diplomas diminished the value of the diplomas. His other writings include an epistemological reflection, La Place du désordre; Critique des théories du changement social (1983); Dictionnaire critique de la Sociologie (1982); L'idéologie ou l'origine des idées reçues (1986); L'art de se persuader (1990); Le juste et le vrai: études sur l'objectivité des valeurs et de connaisance (1995), and Le sens des valeurs (1999). Raymond Boudon, a professor at the sorbonne, has taught at more than 16 universities worldwide, is a member of the French Institute (1990), and was elected to the Academy of sciences in 1995.