Roots of Sociology

Nyhet

Scottish Enlightenment and the Civilising Process

Inbunden, Engelska, 2026

2 699 kr

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This book argues that of today’s ‘core’ social scientific disciplines, it is sociology that has inherited the capacious ambitions of the Scottish Enlightenment.Departing from the practice of classifying thinkers of the Scottish Enlightenment using modern disciplinary categories that they themselves would not have recognised - categories that obscure the fact that these figures were engaged in what they considered to be a wide-ranging, historical science of society - it argues that sociology continues to explore many of the central themes in their work: historical processes, relations of power, societal differentiation and integration, morality, jurisprudence, violence, civil society and the state, as well as social divisions of class, gender, race and nation that are often overlooked in characterisations of ‘Enlightenment reason’.A critical, qualified introduction to the precocious effort of the Scottish Enlightenment to create a theory of ‘the civilising process’, The Roots of Sociology assesses the contribution and continuing relevance of the enlightened intellectuals to sociology as an intergenerational process. As such, it will appeal to scholars and students of sociology, social theory and intellectual history.

Produktinformation

Utgivningsdatum2026-03-23
Mått156 x 234 x undefined mm
Vikt453 g
FormatInbunden
SpråkEngelska
SerieClassical and Contemporary Social Theory
Antal sidor220
FörlagTaylor & Francis Ltd
ISBN9780367491819

Tillhör följande kategorier

Introduction: Sociology and Enlightenment Part I: Sociology and the Scottish Enlightenment 1. Sociogenesis of Sociology 2. Sociologists and the Scottish Enlightenment 3. Eighteenth-century Marxist Sociology 4. Political economy before Sociology 5. Adam Smith’s sociological ambivalence Part II: Sociology of the Scottish Enlightenment 6. Scottish Enlightenment and the civilising process 7. State formation as a civilising offensive 8. An enlightened figuration 9. Intellectuals and the field of power 10. Position-taking in the academic field 11. Symbolic exchange Conclusion: In the end, a beginning

'Intellectually, sociology has lost its way. In this scholarly book, Alex Law charts how it might regain its bearings. He does so by making a thorough re-evaluation of the thinkers of the Scottish Enlightenment, pointing the way forward to a sociology relevant to a broader understanding of the structure of processes in the turmoil we are living through – processes, as Norbert Elias put it, "From plans arising, yet unplanned / By purpose moved, yet purposeless".'Professor Stephen Mennell, University College Dublin.