The structure of social theory

by King, Anthony

"The book begins by defining and criticising contemporary social theory. It analyses the work of Giddens, Bourdieu, Foucault, Bhaskar and Habermas to demonstrate that their commitment to structure and agency is unsustainable. The book then proceeds to recover a sociology which focuses on social relations by reference to the works of classical sociology; to Hegel, Marx, Weber and Durkheim. Finally, the book establishes a new 'hermeneutic' paradigm in which social relations are primary." "Drawing on the work of Gadamer, the book demonstrates that a sociology which focuses on social relations does not imply a return to idealism, nor a retreat into individualism, nor a rejection of critique. Rather, a hermeneutic sociology which prioritises human social relations is the only coherent paradigm which is available today. The author argues that sociologists studying the dramatic social transformations which are currently occuring should focus on social relations between humans; they should not