Matters of Fact (RLE Social Theory)

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Author :
Publisher : Routledge
ISBN 13 : 1317651502
Total Pages : 134 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (176 download)

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Book Synopsis Matters of Fact (RLE Social Theory) by : Stanley Raffel

Download or read book Matters of Fact (RLE Social Theory) written by Stanley Raffel and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2014-08-21 with total page 134 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Facts may seem to be independent, but in this study Stanley Raffle looks at them as expressions of commitment. Medical records, he believes, furnish a principal example of the actively oriented character of the factual commitment, and he draws on his experience of research among the records of a large modern hospital to demonstrate this. He describes how records are produced and reorganized as records, and discusses the grounds which provide for all the features of the records. He looks at the act of ‘observation’ in many apparently and concretely different places, and analyses the activity of noticing, viewing, recording a spectacle, where what is observed supposedly remains untouched by the observing. Dr Raffel goes on to show that observation, events, records and criteria of assessment such as reliability and completeness lose their status as unexplicated verities and become, instead, decisive and consequential courses of action. He points out, too, that the Socratic dialogues exemplify an orientation to commitment that even medical records, paradoxically, require if they are to be the matters of fact that they are.

Matters of Fact (RLE Social Theory)

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Author :
Publisher : Routledge
ISBN 13 : 1317651510
Total Pages : 135 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (176 download)

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Book Synopsis Matters of Fact (RLE Social Theory) by : Stanley Raffel

Download or read book Matters of Fact (RLE Social Theory) written by Stanley Raffel and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2014-08-21 with total page 135 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Facts may seem to be independent, but in this study Stanley Raffle looks at them as expressions of commitment. Medical records, he believes, furnish a principal example of the actively oriented character of the factual commitment, and he draws on his experience of research among the records of a large modern hospital to demonstrate this. He describes how records are produced and reorganized as records, and discusses the grounds which provide for all the features of the records. He looks at the act of ‘observation’ in many apparently and concretely different places, and analyses the activity of noticing, viewing, recording a spectacle, where what is observed supposedly remains untouched by the observing. Dr Raffel goes on to show that observation, events, records and criteria of assessment such as reliability and completeness lose their status as unexplicated verities and become, instead, decisive and consequential courses of action. He points out, too, that the Socratic dialogues exemplify an orientation to commitment that even medical records, paradoxically, require if they are to be the matters of fact that they are.

The Rational and the Social (RLE Social Theory)

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Author :
Publisher : Routledge
ISBN 13 : 1317651308
Total Pages : 213 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (176 download)

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Book Synopsis The Rational and the Social (RLE Social Theory) by : James Robert Brown

Download or read book The Rational and the Social (RLE Social Theory) written by James Robert Brown and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2014-08-21 with total page 213 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: To paraphrase Marx, sociologists have only interpreted science; the point is to improve it. The Rational and the Social attempts both. It begins by sketching recent sociological approaches to science, notably the strong programme – Bloor’s ‘science of science’ and Barnes’s ‘finitism’ – and that of the ‘anthropologists in the lab’, Collins and Latour and Woolgar. The author argues that although sociological accounts are valuable in many respects, when morals are drawn about the structure and epistemology of science, they are badly flawed. In rejecting the sociological theory of science, it is not necessary to conclude that science develops without reference to the social. James Robert Brown argues for an alternative account. He proposes a novel way of viewing the history of science as a source of evidence for how to do good science and argues that the most important aspect of methodology is that it is comparative. Rival theories are evaluated by comparison and the contribution of the social to this process is inevitable and should be acknowledged. This is the challenge to science.

Sociology and the Demystification of the Modern World (RLE Social Theory)

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Author :
Publisher : Routledge
ISBN 13 : 1317650751
Total Pages : 277 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (176 download)

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Book Synopsis Sociology and the Demystification of the Modern World (RLE Social Theory) by : John Rex

Download or read book Sociology and the Demystification of the Modern World (RLE Social Theory) written by John Rex and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2014-08-21 with total page 277 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Professor Rex’s controversial book concerns not only those who are professional sociologists but all thinking people who live in the modern world. One of the objects of sociology is to give ‘power to the people’, to make a contribution to the understanding of political problems. Rex writes from a deep conviction that sociology is a subject whose insights should be made available to the great mass of the people, so that they may liberate themselves from the mystification of social reality that is continually and routinely presented to them through the media, by those who exercise power and by those who have influence. The book is dedicated to St Augustine and Franz Fanon, both of whom, Rex points out, were conscious of living in an age which was embarking on a new barbarism, but had the courage to use their intellects to help understand the possibility of a better future. Rex continues in this tradition, and his main preoccupations are reflected in the present book. It includes a discussion of the problem of social knowledge, an analysis of the basic problems of theory building, and, with the aid of concepts derived from Max Weber, an attempt to understand the major problems of the first, second and third worlds. The author also looks at social structures and moral perspectives, and discusses the vocation of a sociologist in a collapsing civilisation. The book is certain to stimulate debate, both in sociological and political fields and more generally, and is also a serious contribution to the discussion of the methodology and purposes of sociology.

Critical Issues in Social Theory

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Author :
Publisher : Penn State Press
ISBN 13 : 9780271040059
Total Pages : 394 pages
Book Rating : 4.0/5 (4 download)

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Book Synopsis Critical Issues in Social Theory by : John K. Rhoads

Download or read book Critical Issues in Social Theory written by John K. Rhoads and published by Penn State Press. This book was released on 2010-11-01 with total page 394 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Critical Issues in Social Theory is an analytical survey of persistent controversies that have shaped the field of sociology. It defines, clarifies, and proposes solutions to these "critical issues" through commentary on the writings of such influential social theorists as Hobbes, Marx, Durkheim, Weber, Mead, Merton, Parsons, and Schutz. Instead of being just another history, or another classification of theories, Rhoads's four-part model allows him to focus attention on issues that remain at the core of sociological theory today. First, Rhoads analyzes the controversy over positivism as the proper methodological model for the study of human society. Is there one science, of which sociology is a branch, or do the peculiarities of sociology's subject matter require a modification of the scientific method borrowed from the natural sciences? Rhoads next considers the relationship of individuals to society and its structures. Does society have a mode of existence distinct from its members, or is it merely an abstraction derived from the characteristics of individuals? Third, a discussion of social order raises the question of whether social order is the consequence of rules and their underlying moral values, or the product of continuous construction based on self-interest. Finally, the relative importance of consensus and conflict in social relationships is addressed. Is society better understood as a community united by beliefs, values, and rules, or is the social dynamic of continual conflict over beliefs, values, and rules more fundamental? In coming to grips with these issues, the author in some instances takes sides and in others arrives at a synthesis of diverse perspectives. In the final chapter he points to the limitations on the possibility of rational action that come to light in the clashes over these basic issues.

Ideological Representation and Power in Social Relations (RLE Social Theory)

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Author :
Publisher : Routledge
ISBN 13 : 131765174X
Total Pages : 254 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (176 download)

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Book Synopsis Ideological Representation and Power in Social Relations (RLE Social Theory) by : Mike Gane

Download or read book Ideological Representation and Power in Social Relations (RLE Social Theory) written by Mike Gane and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2014-08-13 with total page 254 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This collection reflects the French influence on literary and representational theory which has been predominant in recent years. It contains stimulating essays on the fiction of Perault, Borges, James, Eco and Tournier. These are complemented by theoretical essays on power and representation which provide powerful critiques of Barthes, Derrida, Deleuze and Marin, writers central to the contemporary debate. Finally, two perceptive essays reflect upon and attempt to redirect current theory, drawing on and confronting the writings of Michel Foucault.

Levi-Strauss (RLE Social Theory)

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Author :
Publisher : Routledge
ISBN 13 : 1317652347
Total Pages : 170 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (176 download)

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Book Synopsis Levi-Strauss (RLE Social Theory) by : C.R. Badcock

Download or read book Levi-Strauss (RLE Social Theory) written by C.R. Badcock and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2014-08-13 with total page 170 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: What is the significance of Structuralism for social science? How original is Lévi-Strauss' contribution to social theory? Is he Marxist? Though Structuralism, and its leading representative Lévi-Strauss, are central to sociology, anthropology and psychology, the complexity of his work and the obscurity of his commentators have often proved a barrier to understanding. Now for the first time, Dr Badcock provides a jargon-free assessment of Lévi-Strauss' place in the tradition of French sociological thought – particularly to predecessors such as Comte, Durkheim and Mauss – discusses his relationship to Marx, Sartre, Freud and Talcott Parsons and provides a concise, non-technical account of his complex ideas on kinship, totenism and myth.

Knowledge and Politics (RLE Social Theory)

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Author :
Publisher : Routledge
ISBN 13 : 1317651626
Total Pages : 384 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (176 download)

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Book Synopsis Knowledge and Politics (RLE Social Theory) by : Volker Meja

Download or read book Knowledge and Politics (RLE Social Theory) written by Volker Meja and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2014-08-13 with total page 384 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Karl Mannheim’s Ideology and Utopia has been a profoundly provocative book. The debate about politics and social knowledge that was spawned by its original publication in 1929 attracted the most promising younger scholars, some of whom shaped the thought of several generations. The book became a focus for a debate on the methodological and epistemological problems confronting German social science. More than thirty major papers were published in response to Mannheim’s text. Writers such as Hannah Arendt, Ernst Robert Curtius, Max Horkheimer, Herbert Marcuse, Helmuth Plessner, Hans Speier and Paul Tillich were among the contributors. Their positions varied from seeing in the sociology of knowledge a sophisticated reformulation of the materialist conception of history to linking its popularity to a betrayal of Marxism. The English publication in 1936 defined formative issues for two generations of sociological self-reflection. Knowledge and Politics provides an introduction to the dispute and reproduces the leading contributions. It sheds new light on one of the greatest controversies that have marked German social science in the past hundred years.

Social Theory

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Author :
Publisher : University of Toronto Press
ISBN 13 : 1442606487
Total Pages : 673 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (426 download)

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Book Synopsis Social Theory by : Roberta Garner

Download or read book Social Theory written by Roberta Garner and published by University of Toronto Press. This book was released on 2014-04-29 with total page 673 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The organization of this popular social theory reader, which pairs classical articles with contemporary theoretical and empirical studies, highlights the historical flow of social theory and demonstrates how disagreements and confrontations shape theory over time. Written in clear, down-to-earth language, the introductions to each selection link theorists to one another, illustrating how theoretical traditions are not rigidly separate but are always in conversation, addressing and challenging each other. The third edition incorporates significant changes: more readings reflecting a wide diversity of theorists, a completely revamped chapter on gender, new chapters on race and culture, and unique material on the "transitional giants" who have helped to transform classical theory into contemporary theory. As well, new contextual and biographical materials surround each reading and each chapter includes a study guide with key terms and innovative discussion questions and classroom exercises. The result is a fresh take on social theory that foregrounds a plurality of perspectives and reflects contemporary trends in the field, while still managing to be a teachable and affordable text.

Towards the Sociology of Knowledge (RLE Social Theory)

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Author :
Publisher : Routledge
ISBN 13 : 100015579X
Total Pages : 472 pages
Book Rating : 4.0/5 (1 download)

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Book Synopsis Towards the Sociology of Knowledge (RLE Social Theory) by : Gunter Werner Remmling

Download or read book Towards the Sociology of Knowledge (RLE Social Theory) written by Gunter Werner Remmling and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2022-03-23 with total page 472 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The sociology of knowledge is an area of social scientific investigation with major emphasis on the relations between social life and intellectual activity. It is now an area central to most graduate and undergraduate courses in sociology. The present collection of readings explains the origins, systematic development, present state and possible future direction of the discipline. The major statements in the field were developed early in the twentieth century by Durkheim, Scheler and Mannheim, but the sociology of knowledge continues to engage the theoretical and empirical interests of contemporary sociologists who desire to penetrate the surface level of social existence. This book, with its carefully selected contributions and an introduction which relates the selections to the developmental pattern of the discipline, provides guidance and insight for the reader concerned with the topical issues raised by sociologists of knowledge.

A Social Theory of Freedom

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Publisher : Routledge
ISBN 13 : 1317394941
Total Pages : 320 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (173 download)

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Book Synopsis A Social Theory of Freedom by : Mariam Thalos

Download or read book A Social Theory of Freedom written by Mariam Thalos and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2016-03-17 with total page 320 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In A Social Theory of Freedom, Mariam Thalos argues that the theory of human freedom should be a broadly social and political theory, rather than a theory that places itself in opposition to the issue of determinism. Thalos rejects the premise that a theory of freedom is fundamentally a theory of the metaphysics of constraint and, instead, lays out a political conception of freedom that is closely aligned with questions of social identity, self-development in contexts of intimate relationships, and social solidarity. Thalos argues that whether a person is free (in any context) depends upon a certain relationship of fit between that agent’s conception of themselves (both present and future), on the one hand, and the facts of their circumstances, on the other. Since relationships of fit are broadly logical, freedom is a logic—it is the logic of fit between one’s aspirations and one’s circumstances, what Thalos calls the logic of agency. The logic of agency, once fleshed out, becomes a broadly social and political theory that encompasses one’s self-conceptions as well as how these self-conceptions are generated, together with how they fit with the circumstances of one’s life. The theory of freedom proposed in this volume is fundamentally a political one.

Social Theory, Volume I

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Author :
Publisher : University of Toronto Press
ISBN 13 : 1442607351
Total Pages : 361 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (426 download)

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Book Synopsis Social Theory, Volume I by : Roberta Garner

Download or read book Social Theory, Volume I written by Roberta Garner and published by University of Toronto Press. This book was released on 2014-05-29 with total page 361 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The third edition of this popular reader reflects considerable changes. The framework for understanding theory as a set of conversations over time is maintained and deepened, pairing classical with contemporary readings to illustrate the ways in which theory continues to be reinterpreted over time. Volume I has been completely reorganized, with new contextual and biographical materials surrounding the primary readings, and end-of-chapter study guides that include key terms, discussion questions, and innovative classroom exercises. The result is a fresh and expansive take on social theory that foregrounds a plurality of perspectives and reflects contemporary trends in the field, while being an accessible and manageable teaching tool.

Social Theory: Continuity and Confrontation

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Author :
Publisher : University of Toronto Press
ISBN 13 : 1442606509
Total Pages : 673 pages
Book Rating : 4.4/5 (426 download)

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Book Synopsis Social Theory: Continuity and Confrontation by : Roberta Garner

Download or read book Social Theory: Continuity and Confrontation written by Roberta Garner and published by University of Toronto Press. This book was released on 2014-04-29 with total page 673 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The third edition of this popular reader reflects considerable changes. With over seventy readings representing a wide diversity of theorists, it offers a breadth of coverage not available in other collections. The framework for understanding theory as a set of conversations over time is maintained and deepened, with a focus on key transitional theorists who helped pave the way from classical to contemporary theory. New contextual and biographical materials surround the primary readings, and each chapter includes a study guide with key terms, discussion questions, and innovative classroom exercises. The result is a fresh and expansive take on social theory that foregrounds a plurality of perspectives and defines contemporary trends in the field, while being both an accessible and manageable teaching tool.

Structure, Interaction and Social Theory (RLE Social Theory)

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Author :
Publisher : Routledge
ISBN 13 : 1317650670
Total Pages : 168 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (176 download)

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Book Synopsis Structure, Interaction and Social Theory (RLE Social Theory) by : Derek Layder

Download or read book Structure, Interaction and Social Theory (RLE Social Theory) written by Derek Layder and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2014-08-21 with total page 168 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A central problem in contemporary social theory is that of providing an account of social interaction that does justice both to the self-monitoring capacities of the individuals involved and to the society that ‘frames’ the interaction. This book attempts to resolve this problem, arguing for an objectivist or ‘structuralist’ account which does not undervalue the importance of the indexical and negotiated aspects of interaction, and which takes seriously the Marxist-rationalist critique of empiricism and humanism and the associated idea that society should be treated as a supra-individual, preconstituted and constraining object of scientific analysis. First, Dr Layder pinpoints certain of the strengths and weaknesses of various schools of thought: social psychology (scrutinized in both its sociological and psychological forms), sociology, the Marxist-rationalist approach. Whilst rejecting the mechanistic or naively deterministic theories which are often associated with an objectivist stance, he argues that the productive activities of situated actors must be understood as existing in an articulated relationship with, and within, sets of preconstituted contextual constraints. This thesis is illustrated conceptually by the development of a framework which distinguishes two types and levels of social structure, with different modes of production and reproduction, and empirically by an analysis of aspects of interaction in the occupation of acting.

The Normative Structure of Sociology (RLE Social Theory)

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Author :
Publisher : Routledge
ISBN 13 : 1317652320
Total Pages : 288 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (176 download)

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Book Synopsis The Normative Structure of Sociology (RLE Social Theory) by : Hermann Strasser

Download or read book The Normative Structure of Sociology (RLE Social Theory) written by Hermann Strasser and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2014-08-13 with total page 288 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this provocative analysis of the central issues and developments in modern social theory, Dr Strasser contends that enquiry into the function, tasks and mission of sociology as a discipline can be understood only in relation to the subject's historical development. He believes that a discussion of the origin and intention of sociology, particularly in relation to the established social order, enables us to grasp fully the nature of sociological theory, both past and present. He maintains that a sociologist's own position in society, and consequently his views on its development and his way of expressing those views, will affect the theoretical position he takes up.

The Study of Society (RLE Social Theory)

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Author :
Publisher : Routledge
ISBN 13 : 1317650611
Total Pages : 515 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (176 download)

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Book Synopsis The Study of Society (RLE Social Theory) by : F.C. Bartlett

Download or read book The Study of Society (RLE Social Theory) written by F.C. Bartlett and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2014-08-21 with total page 515 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: There is today widespread recognition of the fact that the future of human civilization depends to a high degree upon Man’s capacity to understand the forces and factors which control his own behaviour. Such understanding must be achieved, not only as regards individual conduct, but equally as regards the mass phenomena resulting from group contacts, which are becoming increasingly intimate and influential. Until this present volume, nowhere have the three sciences of sociology, psychology and social anthropology been properly mobilized to deal with the social problems which yearly grow more pressing. The essays in this book aim to address this.

Talcott Parsons on Economy and Society (RLE Social Theory)

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Author :
Publisher : Routledge
ISBN 13 : 1317652258
Total Pages : 136 pages
Book Rating : 4.3/5 (176 download)

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Book Synopsis Talcott Parsons on Economy and Society (RLE Social Theory) by : Bryan S. Turner

Download or read book Talcott Parsons on Economy and Society (RLE Social Theory) written by Bryan S. Turner and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2014-08-27 with total page 136 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 'In this remarkable collection of essays, Holton and Turner demonstrate that Parsonian sociology addresses the most central problems of our time – issues of sickness and health, power and inequality, the nature of capitalism and its possible alternatives. They develop a mature and original perspective on Parsons as the only classical theorist who avoided crippling nostalgia. Holton and Turner not only talk about Parsonian sociology in a profound and insightful way, they do it, and do it well. As sociology moves away from the rigid dichotomies of earlier debate, this book will help point the way.' – Jeffrey Alexander, Professor and Director of Graduate Studies in Sociology, UCLA