The Classical Tradition in Sociology: The European Tradition

This four-volume set presents an unrivalled collection of the key literature in European sociology. The prestigious texts range across the European tradition from enlightenment to contemporary theory. The collection explodes the myth that the European tradition in sociology is a debate with the ghosts of Karl Marx and Max Weber, demonstrating that the tradition is far more deeply rooted and broadly based.

Volume 1 is devoted to the emergence of European sociology. The contribution of classical political economy and the Enlightenment is examined. Commentaries on the work of Hobbes, Locke, Montesquieu, Taine, Rousseau, de Tocqueville, Comte and St. Simon are included. The volume creates a vivid and compelling picture of the origins of European sociology.

Volume 2 covers the rise of the classical period in social theory. ...

General Introduction: The Classical Tradition in European Sociology

MohamedCherkaoui

I. The History of Sociology: A Viewpoint

By opting to present the reader with exegetic texts on sociologists that have shaped the discipline as well as systems of thought and schools, we intend to pursue several objectives. Instead of inviting the reader to visit or to revisit its classics through an anthology or requiring him/her to place it in a historical perspective, we have chosen a totally different outlook. We are offering various readings of the history of sociology written by sociologists and historians of the discipline that have both the required erudition and the necessary problematics for the formulation of principles that govern the segmentation of our intellectual field and its periodization:

  • Our viewpoint starts from the assumption ...

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