Theoretical Methods in Social History

Opis

Theoretical Methods in Social History examines how generality can be wrested from historical facts.
The book explores the various aspects on the application of social theory to historical materials. Chapters delve on various historical issues such as the sociological bias of Trotsky and De Tocqueville; functional analysis of class relations in Smelser and Bendix; and the analogy between intellectual productions.
Historians and philosophers will find the book interesting.

Spis treści

Front Cover 2
Theoretical Methods in Social History 5
Copyright Page 6
Table of Contents 9
PREFACE 11
CHAPTER 1. WHAT THEORY IN HISTORY SHOULD BE AND DO 13
- Why General Ideas Are Justified 14
- The Logical Positivist Version of Research 15
- Quantitative Methods and Theoretical Methods 16
- Epochal Interpretations 19
- The Theoretical Character of Narrative 25
- The Intellectual Tradition and This Book 29
- Logic, Classes, and Causal Statements 29
- A Case of Analogy 31
- Explication 33

Front Cover 2
Theoretical Methods in Social History 5
Copyright Page 6
Table of Contents 9
PREFACE 11
CHAPTER 1. WHAT THEORY IN HISTORY SHOULD BE AND DO 13
- Why General Ideas Are Justified 14
- The Logical Positivist Version of Research 15
- Quantitative Methods and Theoretical Methods 16
- Epochal Interpretations 19
- The Theoretical Character of Narrative 25
- The Intellectual Tradition and This Book 29
- Logic, Classes, and Causal Statements 29
- A Case of Analogy 31
- Explication 33
- History in Modern Sociology 35
- Empiricism and Theoretical Strategies 35
- Technical Appendix: The Logic of Analogy 37
CHAPTER 2. ANALOGY AND GENERALITY IN TROTSKY AND DE TOCQUEVILLE 43
- The Sociological Bias of Trotsky and de Tocqueville 43
- The Sociology of Authority 45
- Authority and Effectiveness 46
- The Social Construction of Authoritative Purposes 49
- Democracy, Liberty, and Authority 53
- Authority and Inequality or "Justice" 54
- Structures of Authority and Strategic Groups 58
- Authority and Symbols 60
- Authority and Dual Power 61
- The Implications of the Preceding Discussion 62
- Geographical, Social, or Political Distribution as an Index of a Process 63
- The Predispositions of Systems 68
- Principles of Cumulative Causation 73
- Virtual Choice 82
- Conclusions 87
CHAPTER 3. FUNCTIONAL ANALYSIS OF CLASS RELATIONS IN SMELSER AND BENDIX 89
- Smelser's Argument 89
- Functional Explanation of Change 93
- "Disturbance" 95
- The Problems of Running a Family 99
- Ideal Sequence Comparison 101
- Comparative Histories of Roles 109
- The Argument from Functional Completeness 111
- The Theory and the Strategy 114
- Bendix on Management Ideology 116
- Identification of Ideological Problems 118
- The Variety of Ideological Products 122
- Analogy between Intellectual Productions 123
CHAPTER 4. CONCLUSION 127
- What Makes Human Actions Analogous? 129
- The Logic of Concepts 133
REFERENCES 137
INDEX 139

Pokaż więcej

Opis

Spis treści

Recenzje (0)