Suchergebnisse

Though Karl Marx was originally regarded as an economist, then philosopher, in his third reincarnation he has emerged as a philosopher-sociologist. In many ways this is appropriate: Marx emphasized the importance of the social & developed the concepts of class, alienation, & ideology. He stressed that social appearance is not reality & that harmony & changelessness are not inherent characteristics of society. However, as demonstrated by subsequent research, history cannot be broken down into continuing class struggle & the Marxian general sociology is simply false. It is concluded that Marx's major contributions are to social psychology & the study of political sociology & stratification rather than sociology proper. D. Generoli

A common error is to look for the source of all evil in a new, secular Fall of man caused by some intellectual innovation; the decisive role of intellect in action is over-valued. A form of this theory is the 'totalitarian democracy' found in the writings of J. L. Talmon, & its danger lies in its possible reinforcement of the Western tendency to idolize its present & transient relations & institutions. This is equally in error with the Communist contempt for the present. Society is patient, not agent, to Talmon & this is the intellectualist error; more intellectual traditions are at work than Talmon allows, & we owe a greater debt to reformers & utopians than he admits. Though we must be aware of 'terrible simplifiers', we must also beware of simplifications by our interpreters. We should resume the habit of pol'al thought, balancing possible errors against the fate that befalls those who refuse to think. IPSA.

The elements of the opposition to a rational soc sci may be divided into 3 classes: (1) forces which belong to the past - racialism & religious obscurantism; (2) those explanations of society which rely on some single principle (Marxism or Freudianism), & are therefore opposed to reason; (3) those who suggest there can be no answer, because the soc sci's have achieved nothing & have gone on long enough to have achieved a great deal. The soc sci's might avoid much criticism by concentrating on field studies, but this would be an escape into the meaningless; an escape which is all too easy in this age of suspicion & conformity. A good shield against unreason today is the hope animating soc sci'ts of finding some Avilion of reason & justice. (IPSA).