Showing papers on "Social theory published in 1978"

Conceptual dimensions and boundaries of participation in organizations: a critical evaluation.

Abstract: This paper outlines a broad conceptual framework for participation in organizations, which provides an overview of four defining dimensions of participatory social arrangements in organizations and their often complex interdependencies. The dimensions of participation discussed in this paper include the social theories underlying participatory social systems and the values and goals each of them implies for participation, the major properties of participatory systems, the outcomes of participation in organizations, and the contextual characteristics of participatory systems which limit or enhance their potential. The view of participation presented in this paper is of a multidimensional, dynamic social phenomenon, the study of which transcends questions unique to any given discipline paradigm and which requires an integration of micro and macro questions. The implications of this conceptualization for theory building, research, and methodology are briefly discussed.

Essays in Social Theory.

Abstract: These essays draw together the author's thoughts on a diverse range of sociological issues. Dominant themes are: the distinction between normative and empirical theorizing and the relationship between them; the bearing of theory on evidence; and the alleged relativity of standards of rationality.

Critical Social Theory: An Introduction and Critique

Abstract: This paper gives a systematic introduction to the major themes of Jurgen Habermas' formulation of critical social theory. A discussion of his views on knowledge, cognitive interests, and scientific method is followed by an account of his social theory and his attempt to combine Marxism with mainstream sociology. In criticism it is argued that Habermas has not yet solved all the problems of a 'realist' approach to sociology and that his synthesis is incomplete. It is argued that sociology can progress through a critical dialogue with Habermas' work. The aim of this paperl is to give an introduction to the thought of Jurgen Habermas in such a way that those who are interested in understanding his ideas yet do not have the stamina to read all his available work will possess a 'sketch map' of his version of critical sociology. Hopefully, this will encourage readers to consult the original works. Only on the basis of informed discussion can scientific advance be made. The fate of complex writers is to be rejected rather than refuted that is, they are disregarded because of their complexity and obscurity rather than because of their lack of scientific rigour, validity, etc. The aim of this paper, then, is to initiate fruitful discussion, to give a systematic account of Habermas' ideas, and to suggest some important lines of

The normative foundations of social theory: An essay on the criteria defining social economics *

Abstract: All economic theorists believe their theories to be oriented toward explanations of human economic behavior. And since human beings are always and everywhere found only in social groups, all econom...

The developmental logic of social systems

Abstract: Addresses the fundamental structures and processes of social change in the tradition of 'grand' social theory. At a time when development has come into question, both as theoretical concept and as policy goal, this theoretical analysis makes a sharp distinction between growth and development, and reasserts the centrality of development for understanding macro-historical change in a global perspective. '...they do have interesting, closely argued and provocative ideas concerning developmental change. Their opening sections, detailing their general stance and systems-theoretic approach, are excellently constructed, luring the reader to read on with genuine interest.' -- American Political Science Review, Vol 73, No 4

The inter-relations between social, biological, and medical thought, 1750-1850: Saint-Simon and Comte.

Abstract: IN a paper which examined the 'simultaneous emergence of evolutionary theories in biology and sociology in the nineteenth century', J. C. Greene said of Comte that 'it was not from biology that his inspiration [the inspiration of his evolutionary view] was drawn; his writings and letters in the formative period sing the praises of Bichat and Gall but not of Lamarck. His intellectual debt in social theory lay in a different direction -to Condorcet's Sketch of an historical picture of the progress of the human mind, to the historical writings of Hume and Robertson, and to the ideas of Saint-Simon'.' This statement from a paper published almost twenty years ago as an exploratory reconnaissance of virgin territory is representative of the kind of confused judgements which still surround a discussion of the inter-relations between social, biological and medical thought in the century I750 to I850. It makes some valid points which a critical examination should not be allowed to overwhelm, the most significant being that Comte is unequivocally identified with the Enlightenment tradition represented here by Condorcet, Robertson and Hume. But since it is a very condensed statement about a complex set of relationships, it invites interpretations which the author did not necessarily intend. The most important of these is the inference invited by an elliptical sentence structure-which may or may not be deliberately ambiguousthat because Comte did not sing the praises of Lamarck, he was not indebted to biology for his evolutionary conception of society. The problem is not that Larmarck's influence is denied, since Comte specifically rejected the essentials of the Lamarckian theory-an unlimited time scale and the indefinite mutability of species by adaptation and descent2-which might have modified the limited view of progress he inherited from Condorcet, Robertson, and Hume. What is contentious is the implication, albeit unintentional, that an evolutionary view of social structures could not have been encouraged by a reading of Bichat and Gall. It must be stressed that this point is not made gratuitously, to criticize an author whose twenty-year old article is still the best account we have of the inter-related development of biological and social studies in the early nineteenth century. The criticism is rather directed at the

Structure, consciousness, and history

Abstract: Preface Introduction: symbolic realism and cognitive aesthetics: an invitation Richard Harvey Brown and Stanford M. Lyman Part I. Structure, Consciousness and History: 1. Symbolic realism and sociological thought:beyond the positivist romantic debate Richard Harvey Brown 2. History and hermeneutics: Wilhelm Dilthey and the dialectics of interpretative method Richard Harvey Brown 3. The acceptance, rejection, and reconstruction of histories: on some controversies in the study of social and cultural change Stanford M. Lyman 4. The histories of 'mentalites': recent writings on revolution, criminality and death in France Robert Darnton Part II. Structure, Self, and Evil: 5. Architectonic man: on the structuring of lived experience Rom Harre 6. Social theory as confession: Parsonian sociology and the symbolism of evil Paul G. Creelan 7. Dignity versus survival? Reflections on the moral philosophy of social order Manfred Stanley Part III. Praxis and Utopia: 8. Dramaturgical and political enactments: toward an artistic foundation for political space Tracy B. Strong Toward a semiotic of utopia: Thomas More's Utopia Louis Marin.

‘Max Weber's “Interpretive Sociology”: a comparison of conception and practice’

Abstract: The paper compares one aspect of Max Weber's explicit conception of'interpretive sociology' with his actual practices in his substantive investigations. It shosvs that Weber's overt emphasis on the importance of meanings and motives in causal explanation of social action does not correspond adequately with the true mode of explanation involved in his comparative-historical studies of the world religions. Rather, the ultimate level of causal explanation in Weber's substantive writings is that of the social-structural conditions under which certain forms of meaning and motivation can achieve historical efficacy. A model is developed to represent the actual nature of 'Weberian sociology'. It is proposed that this internal comparative analysis and interpretation can have useful implications for contemporary sociological debates and approaches. The nature of Max Weber's sociology has intrigued and puzzled later analysts of society and social theory. The 'ambiguities' and 'tensions' in Weber's work have often been noted; and, despite the richness and scope of both Weber's methodological and his substantive writings, no coherent 'Weberian school' has developed. Debates over the issues with which Weber grappled, and the answers he attempted to provide, still persist. Yet what exactly was Weber's approach to sociology? I shall attempt to provide some sort of an answer to this question by examining an internal inconsistency in Weber's work. This is the divergence between Weber's explicit conception of'interpretive sociology' and his actual mode of explanation in his substantive writings on the world religions. A confrontation of conception with practice reveals that 'interpretive sociology' plays a role in Weber's work other than that explicitly intended for it. By analysing the true nature of 'Weberian explanation', it may be possible to clarify certain issues both in the interpretation of Weber's work and in the contemporary development of sociological theory. The most programmatic statement cxf Weber's conception of sociology occurs at the beginning of his systematic treatise entitled Economy This content downloaded from 207.46.13.93 on Tue, 02 Aug 2016 05:30:21 UTC All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms

The Frankfurt School : The Critical Theories of Max Horkheimer and Theodor W. Adorno

Abstract: The Frankfurt School refers to a school of neo-Marxist interdisciplinary social theory particular established at the Institute for Social Research at the University of Frankfurt, Germany in 1923. Tarr's investigation focuses on three key issues. The first is the Frankfurt School's original program of providing a general theory of modern capitalist society. The second is the claim to represent a continuation of the original Marxian theory through the school's Critical Theory. The third is the scientific validity of Critical Theory in light of the generally accepted canons of the natural and social sciences.Tarr proposes that in the last analysis, Critical Theory is simply another existentialist philosophy. As such, it is a specific expression of certain socio-historical conditions and of the situation of a particular social group, the marginal Jewish bourgeois intelligentsia of Central Europe. This European-Jewish contribution became apparent after the great metaphysical impulse of the pre-Socratic and Platonic-Aristotelian philosophies had run their respective courses. Both philosophies represented philosophical schools of ethics, and both wanted to help man take up a defense against the storms of passions and fate. It was from these ancient sources that the Frankfurt School emerged.The Frankfurt School derived its impetus in the twentieth century, in which Tarr claims a shift occurred from the ontological to the subjective realm. This in turn led to deep changes in philosophical theory and practice which led to a more psychologically oriented mode of social thought. This in-depth study covers the entire career of the Frankfurt School's Critical Theory from 1923 to 1974. It does so by applying the same standards of criticism to its primary doctrines as it turned on other theories, but with a keen sense of balance and fairness.

A Note on Planning Theory

Abstract: A recent article by Scott and Roweis (1977) on planning theory is discussed and criticized. It is suggested that the article is a useful commentary on social theory but not on planning theory. It begs the essential questions regarding the intrinsic difficulties which are encountered in actual planning and the ways in which the planning process and procedures should be organized to carry out planning tasks in various environments. An alternative view is suggested which is not incompatible with the authors' view of society.

Families, Family Processes, and Economic Life: Toward Systematic Analysis of Social Historical Research

Abstract: Disciplinary boundaries are often drawn and maintained so that professional territory can be protected; this is a generally deplorable mode of scholarship. Yet, as I approached the problem of producing a commentary useful for social historians, I found myself asking the question: What is left for a sociologist to contribute as a sociologist? The historians represented in this volume (and the one sociologist, Furstenberg, who has temporarily joined them) show an appreciation for social theory, an ability to use sociological methods of both quantitative and qualitative analysis, and add to that their own competence in grounding their work in the particulars of time and place. So what is there left to do that is uniquely sociological? The answer lies, I propose, in the task of sytemization-identifying variables and issues that lend themselves to comparative analysis across times and places. Such variables can be used to examine the differing ways families interact with their social and economic context as we...

The Social History of Political Theory

Abstract: ATHER THAN ENGAGING DIRECTLY in the longstanding debate about the nature of political theory and its present condition and status, my intention is to outline an approach to the study of the classic political thinkers from Plato to Max Weber that I have chosen to call the “social history of political theory.”’ Basic to my position are a number of assumptions and propositions, both substantive and procedural, that can perhaps productively guide our thinking about classic political theory: (1) politics is an eminently practical enter+ prise rooted in everyday life and concerned with the relationships among individuals and social groupings acting in the public realm for their survival and normally seeking their own advantage in the name of the public interest or common good; (2) classic political theory, therefore, is intimately related to the practical sociohistoncal context in which it was conceived; (3) every classic text in political theory, among other things,is an important reflection of its times, telling us much about the nature of its particular society; (4) the genesis of a classic work in political theory can be explained in social terms, fundamentally representing a partisan position in the conflict of the period; ( 5 ) hence, the classic work in political theory is ideological, although not exclusively so, in that its core consists of sociopolitical recommendations-intellectually supported and justified by arguments from science, religion, theology, metaphysics, epistemology, psychology, ethics, and history-that are to the interest of certain social groupings and not to the interest of others. The “method” employed by the social history

Max Weber’s Sociology of Law

Abstract: Max Weber occupies a central position in the development of sociology. His significance is not merely historical; he remains an ever-present force in contemporary sociology and in this respect he is to be differentiated from Durkheim whose historical importance is widely recognised but is less and less a point of reference in current discussions. Weber’s presence insinuates itself into nearly every important debate and controversy within sociology. For this reason I want to argue that Weber is in a very real sense still alive. The questions that he poses remain the central subject matter not only of modern sociology, but also more widely of contemporary social and political thought. This prominence is reflected in the sustained treatment of Weberian sociology that occurs in contemporary sociology and social theory from widely divergent positions.1

Applied Research and Social Theory

Abstract: Applied research has the potential for greatly enriching social theory Many of the metatheoretical assumptions that underlie social theory are seldom explicitly stated. The attempted application of theory and postapplication analysis often bring these assumptions to the fore. Applied research also allows for a more rigorous testing of theory than that which is possible in nonapplied research. In this paper an effort is made to delineate some aspects of the relationship between applied social research and theory through the use of cultural deprivation theorizing and investigations.

Review Essay: Social Theory and Communication Theory

Abstract: Marshall Sahlins, The Use and Abuse of Biology, Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 1976. Richard J. Bernstein, The Restructuring of Social and Political Theory, New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1976. Trent Schroyer, The Critique of Domination: The Origins and Development of Critical Theory, Boston: Beacon Press, 1973. Claus Mueller, The Politics of Communication, New York: Oxford University Press, 1973. Anthony Giddens, New Rules of Sociological Method, New York: Basic Books, 1976. Marshall Sahlins, Culture and Practical Reason, Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1977. Raymond Williams, Marxism and Literature, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1977. Joseph Ben-David and Terry Clark, eds., Culture and Its Creators: Essays in Honor of Edward Shils, Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1977. Alvin Gouldner, The Dialectic of Ideology and Technology, New York: Seabury Press, 1976. Richard Sennett, The Fall of Public Man, New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1977. Murray Edelman, Political Language: Words that Succeed and Policies that Fail, New York: Academic Press, 1977. James Curran, Michael Gurevitch, and Janet Woollacott, eds., Mass Communication and Society, London: Edward Arnold, 1977.

The Founding Fathers of American Sociology: An Examination of Their Sociological Theories of Race Relations

Abstract: Until the 1930s, American social scientists viewed Blacks as innately inferior. Social Darwinism provided the supporting cornerstone for this approach in sociology. Modern-day sociologists have tried to alleviate these racist myths, although arguments of "Black inferiority" continue to be recurring themes in the theories of Jensen, Schockley, and other bigoted scientists. It would be theoretically interesting to look at how these myths are perpetrated and what function they serve at any given point in U.S. history. Social scientists are now beginning to take more seriously the connection between capitalism and racism: in terms of the content of this paper, it would prove useful to see how the sociological theories concerning race relations fit into this particular network. I do not intend to do this in this article because of the time and complexity of the work involved; however, I do believe that by raising the question of the relationship between social theories, racism, and capitalism, I am thereby able to justify why I feel it is so important to go back and look at the founding fathers of American sociology and how they approached the subject of race relations. The conclusions I draw from examining the race theories of William G. Sumner, Lester Frank Ward, Franklin Henry Giddings, Robert E. Park, Edward A. Ross, and Charles A. Colley are bound to have heavy implications for any further research I may do in the area of the above raised question.

The Philosophy of John Dewey: A Critical Exposition of His Method, Metaphysics and Theory of Knowledge

Abstract: I. Philosopher of Method.- 1. Dewey's view of philosophy.- 2. Dewey's instrumentalist theory of knowledge.- 3. Dewey's emphasis on method in ethics, social philosophy, education, religion, and logic.- a. Ethics.- b. Social philosophy.- c. Education.- d. Religion.- e. Logic.- Conclusion.- II. Method and the Instrumentalist View of Man.- 1. Dewey's description of the empirical method.- a. The distinction between primary and secondary experience.- b. The ambiguity of "primary experience".- c. The incompatibility of Dewey's two conceptions of primary experience.- 2. Dewey's philosophical starting point: man's primary experience as a unity of activity, undifferentiated by thought-distinctions.- 3. Dewey's instrumentalist view of man and its relationship to his recommendation of the empirical method.- a. Man as problem-solver and instrumentalist thinker.- b. Man as social.- c. Man as moral.- Conclusion.- III. Scientific Foundations of the Instrumentalist View of Man.- 1. Biology.- 2. Psychology.- 3. Social theories.- a. General background: Comte, Hegel, Bacon, and Concorcet.- b. Empirical support from the social sciences.- (1) Anthropology.- (2) Sociology and social psychology: the stimulus of Mead, Small, and Thomas.- Conclusion.- IV. The Instrumentalist View of the World.- 1. Dewey's view of metaphysics.- 2. Dewey's view of the world.- a. Change, plurality, and contingency.- b. Naturalism vs. supernaturalism.- 3. Nature and empirical method.- V. Change.- 1. Structure and process.- 2. Dewey's view as an alternative to the quest for substance and essence.- 3. The dual role of events.- a. Events as the uninterpreted data of immediate experience.- b. Events as the ultimate constituents of nature.- c. A dilemma reflecting opposing tendencies in Dewey's thought.- VI. Contingency.- 1. Dewey's reasons for believing that there is contingency in nature.- a. Direct support.- (1) Testimony of unsophisticated experience.- (2) Biology: The theory of evolution.- (3) Physics: Heisenberg's principle of indeterminacy.- b. Indirect support.- (1) Contingency as a condition of fundamental distinctions.- (2) Contingency as a condition of experienced world features.- (3) Contingency as a condition of the phases in human behavior.- (4) Contingency as a condition for the employment of scientific method.- 2. Further clarification of Dewey's case for contingency and assessment of its significance.- a. Difficulties in ascertaining the meaning of "contingency".- b. Human freedom, choice, and responsibility.- c. The meaning of "contingency" in decision-making contexts.- d. Some limits to Dewey's views when considered in judicial and investigative contexts.- e. Conclusion.- VII. Knowledge.- 1. Dewey's attack on the spectator view of knowledge.- a. The instrumentalist view of thought.- b. Experimental methods of inquiry.- c. Heisenberg's principle of indeterminacy.- 2. Dewey's view of knowledge: its applications and limits.- a. Experimental types of knowing.- b. Non-experimental types of knowing.- c. Conclusion.- VIII. Toward a Broader Empiricism.- 1. Review of themes and difficulties in Dewey's philosophy.- 2. The quest for essence.

Historical and Sociological Research on the Family and the Life Cycle: Methodological Alternatives

Abstract: A great deal has been written about the differences between historical and sociological research, much of it suggesting clearer boundaries between the approaches and methods of work than exist in actual practice. For the purposes of this discussion, I shall, as Charles Tilly has put it, "beg all the groanworthy questions traditional in discussion of history and social theory"1 and shall, instead, examine some of the specific methodological issues raised by the historical papers in Parts II and III of this volume. The first section of the paper will examine the types of data sources represented (including their strengths and weaknesses as data bases). The second section will discuss the selection of the research case and the modes of sampling used. The third will discuss some of the modes of data analysis used. Since a comprehensive treatment of this topic is obviously impossible in this paper, my discussion of data analysis will be limited to some recent developments in historical methodology used in one or more of the historical papers, which seem to be of special interest to sociologists, and to some sociological approaches which might extend or illuminate the historians' analysis of their data.