(Classical and Contemporary Social Theory)
by Robert Leroux (Editor), Thierry Martin (Editor), Stephen Turner (Editor)
This
book explores the shift in sociology away from the shared aspiration of
the classical transition, of transcending partiality through the
construction of a "science of society", in the face of challenges to the
notion of objectivity.
With the increasing
subjugation of sociology to political ideologies and a growing emphasis
on "policy", which casts sociology in the role of a provider of
intellectual content for political programs, this volume asks whether
the situation is the result of an exhaustion of ideas or might perhaps
be rooted in the failure in the very program of establishing sociology
as a science. Taking seriously the challenges to the classical
aspiration of constructing theories that both explain and are grounded
in empirical reality, The Future of Sociology
asks whether the core idea of transcending ideology is still worth
pursuing, and whether there remains scope for making sociology
scientific.
As such, it will appeal to scholars and students of sociology, social theory, and social scientific methodology.
