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Social theory
About: Social theory is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 11421 publications have been published within this topic receiving 624898 citations.
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12 Jun 1997TL;DR: The state of socio-legal studies as mentioned in this paper is a state of the art in the field of social theory of law and decision-making, with a focus on human behaviour and interpretivism.
Abstract: 1 Introduction: The State of Socio-Legal Studies 2 Pragmatism and Realistic Socio-Legal Studies 3 Behaviourism and Interpretivism in Complement 4 An Analytical Map of the Concept of Law 5 A Social Theory of Law by Comparison to Legal Positivism 6 The Internal/External Distinction and the Notion of a 'Practice' 7 Studies of Judicial Decision-Making 8 Legal Theory and the Practice of Judging Three Last Words Bibliography Index
117 citations
TL;DR: The history of science is a history of scientists doing what philosophers and methodologists told them was impossible to do on a priori grounds as mentioned in this paper, which is the history of how scientific theories get invented.
Abstract: The history of science is a history of scientists doing what philosophers and methodologists told them was impossible to do on a priori grounds So today, in the scientific realism of contemporary philosophy of science, we are told that sociology can not be "scientific" except when conducted by objectivist methods Yet, as such philosophers themselves have admitted, their recommended logic-among other difficulties-tells us little of how scientific theories get invented 2
117 citations
01 Jan 2011
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors discuss systematically some of the methodological strategies of using this mode of research in social science and discuss the limitations of comparison as a method of generating historical generalisations.
Abstract: Comparison is a common research method with outstanding merits and with widespread application. The aim of this article is to discuss systematically some of the methodological strategies of using this mode of research in social science. To do so a few typologies regarding the functions and leverages of comparative analysis are presented first. In the next step various ways in which comparative research is applied in social theory are exemplified, with especial attention paid to comparative studies of large-scale, macro-level historical process of social change. This article ends with a discussion of the limitations of comparison as a method of generating historical generalisations.
117 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors discuss conceptual tools which might allow an elaborated sociological analysis of the relationship between information and communication technology on the one hand, and social inequalities on the other.
Abstract: This paper discusses conceptual tools which might allow an elaborated sociological analysis of the relationship between information and communication technology on the one hand, and social inequalities on the other The authors seek to go beyond the familiar idea of the ‘digital divide’ to develop a focus on digital social inequality, through discussing three bodies of literature which are normally not discussed together The paper thus addresses issues in feminist theory; the sociological field analysis of Pierre Bourdieu; and the Actor Network Theory This paper shows that there are unexpected commonalities in these three perspectives which allow the possibility of effective cross-fertilization All seek to avoid positing the existence of reified social groups which are held separate from technological forces, and all stress the role of fluid forms of relationality, from which social inequalities can emerge as forms of stabilization, accumulation and convertibility
117 citations