Individualism and holism, the concepts embedded in the title of this book, represent two key theoretical perspectives that have for many decades steered and shaped sociological thought. For over a century these two interpretative perspectives have also divided sociological theory into two camps, accompanied by a band of scholars trying to bridge this dualism. According to American sociologist Jeffrey C. Alexander, individualist theories derive their appeal and strength from their underlying assumption that humans make decisions as individual, free, autonomous, and rationally and morally consistent beings. A related belief is that they are able to express these qualities in their actions regardless of the situation in society or what economic or moral conditions prevail. Holistic, or collectivist, theories, unlike individualism, assign primacy to social entities. This perspective is important because it creates the basic precondition through which entities can become the subject of deliberate sociological analysis. However, there is a price for fulfilling this precondition. The emphasis it places on the collective, and on larger entities, logically means that the individual will and free human decision-making tends to be lost from the field of view. This book argues that these two perspectives, individualist and holistic, form the central dilemma of sociological thought. It provides an extensive review and critique of contemporary sociological approaches to this antinomy and examines attempts that have been made to overcome it and unite them. Moreover, the book proposes a new approach to solving this dilemma via the concept of 'critical reconfigurationism', arguing that the resolution of this dilemma is vital not just for sociological theory but also for empirical social research.
Author(s): Jiří Šubrt
Edition: 1
Publisher: Emerald Publishing
Year: 2019
Language: English
Commentary: TruePDF
Pages: 191
Tags: Individualism Social Aspects; Social Theory; Sociology
Cover
Half Title Page
Title Page
Copyright Page
Contents
List of Tables
About the Author
List of Reviewers
Acknowledgements
Introduction
Chapter 1 What Is Sociological Theory?
1.1. A Widely Used Concept
1.2. The Structure of Sociological Theory
1.3. Paradigmatic Plurality
Chapter 2 The Two Lines of Theoretical Thinking in Sociology
2.1. Prologue: Metaphors and Their Impact on Pre-sociological and Sociological Thinking
2.2. The Nature of Basic Dualism
2.3. The Individualist Approach
2.3.1. The Science of Social Action
2.3.2. Utilitarian Theory
2.3.2.1. Behaviouristic Version
2.3.2.2. Rational Choice Theory
2.3.3. Interpretative (Hermeneutic) Sociology
2.3.3.1. Phenomenological Sociology
2.3.3.2. Symbolic Interactionism
2.3.3.3. The Dramaturgical Perspective
2.3.3.4. The Ethnomethodological Perspective
2.3.4. The Concept of Conversation Markets
2.4. The Holistic Approach
2.4.1. The Science of Social Facts
2.4.2. Structuralism and Post-structuralism
2.4.3. Functionalism
2.4.4. Systems Theory
2.4.5. Network Analysis
2.4.6. The Theory of Social Change
2.5. Attempts to Unite the Individualist and Holistic Approaches
2.5.1. The Sociology of Figuration
2.5.2. AGIL
2.5.3. Social Constructivism
2.5.4. The Two-level Conception of Society
2.5.5. Habitus and the Social Field
2.5.6. The Theory of Structuration and Social Realism
Chapter 3 Dualism–Duality–Duplex
3.1. The Position of the Classics
3.2. Current Solutions
3.2.1. Seeking “The Third”
3.2.2. Constructivism as an Approach based on the Alternation of Individualistic and Holistic Perspectives
3.2.3. The Theory of Structuration as Another Variant of Alternating Perspectives
3.3. The Question of the Actor
3.4. Action
3.5. Interaction
3.6. Structures
3.7. Micro and Macro
3.8. Actors on the Macro-level
3.9. Resources
3.10. The Dimensions of Structuration
Chapter 4 Conclusion
Bibliography
Index
