In 'The Nature of Social Science,' George Homans argues that the core of social science is explanation, not mere description. He advocates for a reductionist approach, asserting that complex social phenomena can be explained by fundamental principles of individual psychology, drawing heavily from B.F. Skinner's behavioralism. Homans critiques abstract structural-functionalism and proposes a deductive system where general propositions about human behavior, central to his social exchange theory, can explain specific social facts. This book is a foundational text for behavioral sociology, championing a more rigorous, scientific, and empirically testable approach to understanding society.