Sociologické skúmanie individualizmu – problematickos metodologického individualizmu (Sociological Exploring of Individualism—the Problematic of Methodological Individualism)

The paper discusses sociological exploring of individualism. Although individualism is the topic, which accompany sociology since the beginning, until now there is not approved sociological theory of individualism. Even the voices of those, who question the existence of individualism, become stronger. As the main weaknesses of sociological exploring of individualism there are recorded normativeness (moral and religious, ideological and political, theoretical) and attempts to build kind of “grand” theory. As the key failing of sociological exploring of individualism is considered there the scientific approach of methodological individualism, which makes individualism as social phenomenon sociologically invisible, confusing individualism with egoism. The aim of author is to suggest and give reasons for exploring individualism as a kind of social organization, using an approach of sociological realism.