This volume brings together a number of authors that see themselves as contribu tors to, or critical commentators on, a new field that has recently emerged within the sociology of knowledge. This new field is 'the Sociology of Philosophical Knowledge' (SPK). Studying philosophers and their knowledge from broadly sociological or political perspectives is not, of course, a recent phenomenon. Marxist writers have used such perspectives throughout the twentieth century, and, since the sixties, feminist authors have also occasionally engaged in sociological analysis of philosophers' texts. What distinguishes SPK from these sociologies is that SPK is not engaged in a political struggle; indeed, SPK remains, in general, neutral with respect to the truth or falsity of the doctrines it studies. In doing so, SPK follows the 'strong programme' in the sociology of scientific knowledge. In 'Wittgenstein as a Conservative Thinker', David Bloor draws on the work of the sociologist Karl Mannheim in order to situate Wittgenstein's philosophy. Mannheim distinguished between two important styles of thought in the nine teenth century. The first, the 'natural law' ideology was associated with ideas of the Enlightenment and the French Revolution. It emphasized individualism, progress, and universal reason. The second style of thought was 'conservatism'.

This book introduces the sociology of philosophy as a research field, asking what can be gained by looking at the discipline of philosophy from a sociological perspective and how to go about doing it, as presented through three case studies of 20th-century Swedish and Scandinavian philosophy. After a general introduction to the topic including its brief history and central concepts, the case studies tackle questions such as how the crucial distinction between analytical and Continental philosophy came to be established in Sweden, how the Norwegian philosopher Arne Naess worked out in his early philosophy an approach to dealing with the cultural trauma of the Second World War and the Nazi occupation, and how professional philosophical careers were built in postwar Sweden. The authors then take a forward look, suggesting where the field might go from here and what its future key areas might be. This volume will appeal to scholars and students in sociology, philosophy, intellectual history, and Scandinavian studies.

This text demonstrates the link between philosophy of science and scientific practice. Durkheim's sociology is examined as more than a collection of general observations about society, since the constructed theory of the meanings and causes of social life is incorporated.

Providing an authoritative guide to theory and method, the key sub-disciplines and the primary debates in contemporary sociology, this work brings together the leading authors to reflect on the condition of the discipline.

The Sociology of Intellectual Life outlines a social theory of knowledge for the 21st century. With characteristic subtlety and verve, Steve Fuller deals directly with a world in which it is no longer taken for granted that universities and academics are the best places and people to embody the life of the mind. While Fuller defends academic privilege, he takes very seriously the historic divergences between academics and intellectuals, attending especially to the different features of knowledge production that they value. The boook′s features include: - an account of the problematic relationship between postmodernism and the university as an institution - the problems facing an academic who wishes also to function as an intellectual - a critical survey of the emerging fields of social epistemology and the sociology of philosophy - a discussion of the ethics and politics of public intellectual life, especially given its largely improvisational (or as Fuller himself terms it, ′bullshit′) character.

Originally published in 1983. This book concentrates on the impact of philosophy of science on sociology and other disciplines. It argues that the impact of the philosophy of science on sociology from the rise of the Vienna Circle until the mid-1980s resulted in a deep-reaching and, in the author’s view, undesirable methodological reorientation in sociology.

In this ground-breaking new text, Patrick Baert analyses thecentral perspectives in the philosophy of social science,critically investigating the work of Durkheim, Weber, Popper,critical realism, critical theory, and Rorty's neo pragmatism. Places key writers in their social and political contexts,helping to make their ideas meaningful to students. Shows how these authors’ views have practical uses inempirical research. Lively approach that makes complex ideas understandable toupper-level students, as well as having scholarly appeal.

In spite of the growth of secularization, technology, and science, statistics tell us that religious conversions are on the rise, and the number of people who take religion and divine revelation seriously is at an all-time high. This phenomenon, curiously enough, has increased rather than decreased both inter and intra-religious conflicts: Protestants fight Catholics in Northern Ireland; Serbian Greek Orthodox fight with Kosovo Moslems in Yugoslavia; Jews fight with Moslems in Palestine; Hindus fight with Moslems in India - and the list is seemingly endless. There is bitter disagreement also in dealing with revelation, even within the same religious traditions and with regard to the same scriptures: Liberal Christians reject the literal interpretation of the Christian scriptures favored by Evangelicals; many Protestant groups do not accept the role of tradition in interpretation which Roman Catholics consider essential; Orthodox Jews strictly follow eating regulations presented in the Torah, but Reformed Jews take these in a different sense. The sources of these disagreements vary considerably. Some are rooted in historical events and traditions, but quite often they signal deep confusions concerning the interpretation of what believers take to be divinely revealed. In recent years, the author claims, the confusion has been compounded by the rise in the number and variety of interpretational approaches that are used to understand revelation. One can now take a culturalist, sociological, literary, psychoanalytical, historical, political, philosophical or feminist interpretations - to name just a few - approach. But do these all necessarily make sense when applied to religious texts? These and other questions cry out for answers which seldom are even attempted in the pertinent literature. This book offers a novel and sustained philosophical treatment of religious hermeneutics in which the author considers the main alternatives available in today's marketplace. The book is neither ideologically partisan nor thematically narrow and should be of interest to anyone concerned with interpreting the divine word. It offers a sensible roadmap to a topic that continues to draw heated debate in philosophy, theology, sociology, history and literary studies.

This 11-volume set reissues a host of classic titles on Continental Philosophy. Written by leading scholars in the field, they form an essential reference resource that tackles philosophers and subjects such as Deleuze, Derrida, hermeneutics and phenomenology.

Feminism, Science, and the Philosophy of Science brings together original essays by both feminist and mainstream philosophers of science that examine issues at the intersections of feminism, science, and the philosophy of science. Contributors explore parallels and tensions between feminist approaches to science and other approaches in the philosophy of science and more general science studies. In so doing, they explore notions at the heart of the philosophy of science, including the nature of objectivity, truth, evidence, cognitive agency, scientific method, and the relationship between science and values.