P

Pareto, Vilfredo Generale (1916), in which the author developed a

series of conceptual and methodological reflec-
Luciana Aliaga tions in a general theory of society.
Universidade Federal da Paraíba, João Pessoa,
Brazil
The Logical-Experimental Method and
Social Analysis
Introduction
Under the paradigm of natural sciences, the search
Vilfredo Pareto (1848–1923) was a Franco-Italian for scientific objectivity in social analysis led
intellectual who had originally studied Mathemat- Pareto to the conception of a new method capable
ical Sciences and Engineering. He was a professor of overcoming a priori concepts and values, which
of Political Economy at the University of he considered limits of the sociology as it had
Losanna, filling the chair left by Léon Walras, been formulated until then, especially by Comte,
and taught Political Economy and Sociology at Durkheim, and Spencer.
the Faculty of Law at the University of Vaud, both Based on this reworked positivism, Pareto pro-
in Switzerland. Among his important contribu- posed the logical-experimental method, devel-
tions to Economics are the refinement of the sta- oped from the French physiologist Claude
tistical method and collaboration in the Bernard’s methodological notes (Cf. Pareto
development of the modern approach to the eco- 1980). According to Pareto, reason determines
nomic theory of rational choice (cf. Ranchetti social conduct only to a small degree, above all,
2000). in the economic sphere. Nonrational motivations
In the fields of Sociology and Political Science, play a more important role in human conduct.
along with Gaetano Mosca, he worked in particu- However, individuals tend to give a logical veneer
lar on refining the theory of elites, fundamental for to their actions and for this reason, it is essential to
the autonomy and institutionalization of Political consider feelings, values, and customs in social
Science as an academic discipline in Italy in the analysis (Cf. Pareto 1923).
late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries In view of this, Pareto proposed two concepts
(cf. Bobbio 2005). for the analysis of non-logical actions: residues
Among his main works are Cours d’économie and derivations. Residues were elements related
politique (1896), Systèmes Socialistes to non-logical psychic structures, that is, instincts.
(1902–1903), Manuale di economia política Pareto classified residues into six types, whose
(1906), and his masterpiece Trattato di Sociologia combination and individual distribution in the
© Springer Nature B.V. 2021
M. Sellers, S. Kirste (eds.), Encyclopedia of the Philosophy of Law and Social Philosophy,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-6730-0_882-1
2 Pareto, Vilfredo

collectivity would determine heterogeneity and governed” (Pareto 1987). The realistic basis of
social balance. Derivations, on the other hand, politics, in this sense, can be found not be in the
consisted of different verbal means through legal constitution of the State, a mere abstraction,
which individuals provided a posteriori logic for but in the perennial division between rulers and
what, in fact, had no factual correspondence. ruled. The disruptive replacement of the ruling
elite occurs when the residue responsible for the
necessary energy and courage for the command
Residues, Derivations, Law, and Policy decreases among its components. Therefore, the
ruling elite falls at the emergence of a new elite
Guided by the logical-experimental method, capable of the repeated use of force and weapons.
Pareto worked in different fields of social analy- This disturbance in the social balance can be
sis. In addition to economics, sociology, and pol- avoided, however, insofar as the ruling class
itics, it is undeniable that legal principles and becomes able to assimilate active elements
discourses were part of his reflections on human among the governed mass, or, in other words, in
actions, state, and social balance. For Pareto, the event of a gradual “circulation of elites”
while legal norms were generated by the manifes- (Cf. Pareto 1923).
tations of the latent feelings in society, legal dis-
course would be constituted from the derivations.
Based on the analysis of Roman law, he criticized,
Cross-References
for example, Henry Summer Maine, whose con-
ception of law suffered from intellectualism
▶ Henry Sumner
because it was defined as a set of “thought”
▶ Machiavelli, Niccolò
norms. For Pareto, on the contrary, the legal prin-
▶ Maine
ciples that guide legislators resulted from a set of
▶ Mosca, Gaetano
historical processes that spontaneously reproduce
themselves over time and that are permeated with
feelings and values, expressed by the residues,
and, therefore, neither objectively nor abstractly References
thought. Law was thus be “a system that adapts to
an environment (or to a state of affairs)” (Aqueci Aqueci F (2000) Diritto, morale, discorso in Pareto. In:
Malandrino C, Marchionatti R (eds) Economia, socio-
2000). In this way, only later would the residues logia e politica nell’opera di Vilfredo Pareto. Leo
that give rise to standards be rationalized and S. Olschki editore, Firenze, pp 313–328
presented as logical, in the form of derivations. Bianchi A, Aliaga L (2012) Pareto e Gramsci: itinerários de
In the realm of politics, the realistic perspective uma ciência política italiana. Análise Soc
XLVII:322–342
inherited from Machiavelli, connected to the the- Bobbio N (2005) Saggi sulla Scienza Politica in Italia.
ory of residues and derivations, was central to the Laterza, Bari
definition of the theory and circulation of elites. In Burnham J (1963) The Machiavellians, defenders of free-
the Paretian system, the elites are made up of all dom. Gateway, Chicago
Busino G (1975) Guida a Pareto. Rizzoli Editore, Milano
those individuals who managed to reach the Mornati F (2020) Una biografia intellettuale di Vilfredo
highest rates in their specific area of activity, Pareto, vol 3: Dalla libertà alla scienza (1898–1923).
thus assuming privileged places in the social hier- Storia e Letteratura, Roma
archy (Cf. Pareto 1923). The distinction between Pareto V (1923) Trattato di sociologia Generale, 3 vols.
G. Barbera, Firenze
governing elites and the governed mass is based Pareto V (1980) Scritti Sociologici Minori. UTET, Torino
on individual capacities, determined by different Pareto V (1987) Corso di Economia Política. UTET,
combinations of residues, which remain more or Torino
less stable over time. Thus, although the classes in Ranchetti F (2000) Pareto e l’asino di Buridano. Sui
fondamenti della teoria della scelta razionale in
power change, the realtà effettuale in substance Economia. In: Malandrino C, Marchionatti R (eds)
remains the same, that is, “in reality there is no Economia, sociologia e politica nell’opera di Vilfredo
more than the men who govern and those who are Pareto. Leo S. Olschki editore, Firenze, pp 205–220