Advances in Social Theory and Methodology (Rle Social Theory): Toward an Integration of Micro- And Macro-Sociologies

ISBN-13: 9781138781993 / Angielski / Twarda / 2014 / 332 str.

Karin Knorr Cetina;A. Cicourel

Opis

After a period in which sociology was torn apart by the polarized claims of micro- and macro-methodology, an increasing number of sociologists are now attempting a fusion of the two approaches. In this volume, some of the most distinguished sociologists set out possible resolutions of the debate. Each of the chapters, placed in perspective by the editors' prologue, approaches the problem from a unique angle. Aaron Cicourel argues for a macro-basis of social interaction; Randall Collins shows how the macro consists of an aggregate of micro-episodes; Troy Duster presents a methodological model for generating a systematic data base across different contexts of social action through his examination of the procedures governing screening for inherited disorders. Rom Harre launches a philosophical attack on what he sees as a spurious bifurcation of micro- and macro-levels. Anthony Giddens explores the problem of unintended consequences, and Gilles Fauconnier, through a depiction of Jesuitical casuistry, shows how vital clues to macro-structure can be elicited from the micro-phenomenon of language. Victor Lidz continues the language theme in his chapter on the implications of advances in linguistic theory for macro-systems theory. Niklas Luhmann illustrates the micro-macro problem by the communication about law in interaction systems. The theory of historical materialism is reassessed by Jurgen Habermas. Taking the example of Renault and electric vehicles, Michel Callon and Bruno Latour investigate how micro-actor status is attained and the sociologist's involvement in this transformation. Finally, Pierre Bourdieu, writing on men and machines, analyses the historical imperatives that create the complex relation between man and his environment.

Spis treści

Introduction. The Micro-Sociological Challenge of Macro-Sociology: Towards a Reconstruction of Social Theory and Methodology K. Knorr-Cetina.  Part 1. The Micro-Foundations of Social Knowledge  1. Notes on the Integration of Micro- and Macro-levels of Analysis A.V. Cicourel  2. Micro-translation as a Theory-Building Strategy R. Collins  3. Intermediate Steps between Micro- and Macro-Integration: the Case of Screening for Inherited Disorders T. Duster  Part 2. Action and Structure: The Cognitive Organization of Symbolic Practice  4. Philosophical Aspects of the Micro-Macro Problem R. Harré  5. Agency, Institution and Time-Space Analysis A. Giddens  6. Social Ritual and Relative Truth in Natural Language G. Fauconnier  Part 3. Toward a Reconstruction of Systems Perspectives  7. Transformational Theory and the Internal Environment of Action Systems V. Lidz  8. Communication about Law in Interaction Systems N. Luhmann  Part 4. The Production of Societal Macro-Structures: Aspects of a Political Economy of Practice  9. Toward a Reconstruction of Historical Materialism J. Habermas  10. Unscrewing the Big Leviathan: How Actors Macro-Structure Reality and How Sociologists Help Them to Do So M. Callon and B. Latour  11. Men and Machines P. Bourdieu