This text provides a comprehensive examination of classical sociological theory by introducing students to the
life, times, and ideas of the figures who have had the greatest influence on the development of the field.
Each chapter focuses on one theorist and his ideas, organized into a social and historical perspective. Students
will enjoy reading the background information on each theorist covered in the book. These include such interesting
highlights as Comte's days in military school, the death of Durkheim's son in World War I, Spencer's inability
to commit to marriage, and Hegel's illegitimate son. Taking a critical and reflexive approach, the text also discusses
how classical theory affects sociology today.
Table of Contents
1. Ideology, History, and Classical Sociological Theory.
The Rise of Sociology.
Sociology as Science and as Value-Orienting Critique.
The Institutionalization of Sociology.
Enlightenment Philosophy and Classical Sociological Theory.
Social Evolutionism and Classical Sociological Theory.
Sociology and Problems of Modernity.
France: Revolution and Collectivism.
Germany: Disunity and Idealism.
Italy: City-States and Machiavellianism.
Britain: Industrialization and Utilitarianism.
The United States: Expansion and Voluntarism.
The Influence of Class, Race, and Gender on Classical Sociological Thought.
2. The Nature and Types of Sociological Theory.
Theory and Social Life.
Positivism.
Interpretive Theory.
Critical Theory.
Sociology and the Causality of Fate.
Concluding Remarks.
3. (Isidore) Auguste Marie François-Xavier Comte.
Background.
Ideas.
Significance.
4. (David) Emile Durkheim.
Background.
Ideas.
Significance.
5. Herbert Spencer.
Background.
Ideas.
Significance.
6. Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel.
Background.
Ideas.
Significance.
7. Karl Marx.
Background.
Ideas.
Significance.
8. Max Weber.
Background.
Ideas.
Significance.
9. Georg Simmel.
Background.
Ideas.
Significance.
10. Sigmund Freud.
Background.
Ideas.
Significance.
11. Vilfredo Pareto.
Background.
Ideas.
Significance.
12. Thorstein Bunde Veblen.
Background.
Ideas.
Significance.
13. George Herbert Mead.
Background.
Ideas.
Significance.
14. Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche.
Background.
Ideas.
Significance.
15. The Paradoxical Failure of Classical Sociological Theory: A Concluding Essay.
Classical Sociological Theory: The Heritage.
The Contemporary Appropriation of Classical Theory.
Classical Sociological Theory and Contemporary Academic Sociology.
Sociology and Postmodernity.
Concluding Remarks.
