Abstract
Social sciences play a major role in society in explaining and influencing human behaviour. We traditionally study economics, psychology or sociology to explain our behaviour, but also to learn how we can change and improve it. These days, brain science is another popular field, in which we look to our brain to account for our behaviour. But is all this scientific knowledge really useful in our everyday actions? What does it mean, for example, to explain our behaviour by referring to a well-functioning or a poorly functioning brain? To what extent is such a statement still really about my behaviour, and does it really account for it? I analyse the gap between social science theory and everyday practice by comparing different explanations of our behaviour. In our everyday explanations of our behaviour, we like to refer to thoughts, wishes, goals, and desires, all of which make our behaviour human and personal. In the social sciences, I argue, these aspects play a secondary role. This means that there is a major limitation when it comes to how relevant the social sciences are to our everyday experience. To close this gap, we need to radically rethink our ideas about human behaviour and our explanations for it.
