This undergraduate course offers an introduction to basic elements of understanding and explaining human social behavior from the perspective of both contemporary social sciences and philosophy of science. The course is held exclusively in English. It is open to all students enrolled in any study program in the social sciences or of the humanities.

On successful completion of the course, students will be able to:

1. understand the specific character of social phenomena
2. master the basic theoretical vocabulary of social scientific thinking;
3. differentiate interpretation of social phenomena from their explanation;
4. recognize the relatedness between individual and collective explanation levels of social phenomena;
5. explicate the basic structure of social scientific explanations;
6. name and explain the basic causal patterns ("mechanisms") underlying social phenomena (selfishness and altruism, rational choice, unintended consequences, collective beliefs and collective decision making, norms and institutions);
7. identify valid explanations of social phenomena and differentiate them from pseudo-explanations.