A Short History of Sociological Thought

Abstract

Part 1 Foundations: origins of sociology human nature and social order Vico - science and history Montesquieu the Scottish enlightenment problems of method the emergence of class the dialectics of social change industrialisation and the rise of sociological positivism: empiricism and positivism the French Revolution and sociology the concept of industrial society - Saint-Simon Comte and positive science positivism and determinism sociology, political economy and the division of labour evolutionism and sociological positivism - Mill and Spencer Marxism - a positive science of capitalist development the development of Marxism alienation of labour the concept of ideology Marx's method - materialism and dialectics calss formation and class consciousness laws of development - the problem of historical determinism. Part 2 Classical sociology: critique of positivism - 1 Durkheim Durkheim and the development of sociology positivism and morality division of labour, social cohesion and conflict anomie suicide and social solidarity functionalism, holism and political theory critique of positivism - 11 social action inderstanding and the social sciences - Dilthey formal sociology - Simmel and sociation understanding and the problem of method - Weber ideal types and social action religion and social action - capitalism and the Priotestant ethic capitalism and culture - Sombart and Simmel social action and social system - Pareto the socioloy of class and domination Marx's theory of domination the state and class domination the theory of class - Weber capitalism, bureaucracy and democracy - Weber's theory of domination Marxism and sociology Marxism after Marx Marxism as revolutionary consciousness - Lukacs and the concept of totality culture and domination - Gramsci and the concept of hegemony Marxism and the sociology of intellectuals - Gramsci Lukacs and Gramsci on sociology Marxism and sociology - the Austro-Marxists conclusion. Part 3 Modern sociology: functionalism sociological functionalism - general features the concept of system functionalism and the dialectic of social life - Merton functionalism, social conflict and social change functionalism and stratification self, society and the sociology of everyday life action theory and the concept of slef - the early and later Parsons psycho-analysis and self - Freud the social self - Mead and symbolic interactionism sociological phenomenology - Schutz and the reality of everyday life structuralism the development of structuralism - Saussure post-Saussurian structuralism - language and culture Marxism and structuralism. (part contents)