Conceptual Person (A Sociological Examination)

Author: [USA] Coser
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-01-01
Features: Intellectuals are guardians of ideas and enlighteners of ideology. Those who pursue ideas, though often rejected and discriminated against, have remained pioneers in the history of Western thought for many centuries. This book traces the social background of Western intellectuals, striving to reveal how social and political conditions either support or hinder their ideas, and how they influence and shape the world of Western ideas amid immense difficulties. The impact of social settings and contexts on the development of intellectuals, their relationship with power structures, the types, living conditions, and future prospects of contemporary intellectuals—many compelling and thought-provoking issues are analyzed with sharp insight, originality, and persuasive arguments in this book. Published over 30 years ago, it has long been renowned in Western sociology and has become a representative work on the history of Western intellectuals and intellectual sociology. Intellectuals are guardians of ideas and enlighteners of ideology. Those who pursue ideas, though often rejected and discriminated against, have remained pioneers in the history of Western thought for many centuries. This book traces the social background of Western intellectuals, striving to reveal how social and political conditions either support or hinder their ideas, and how they influence and shape the world of Western ideas amid immense difficulties. The impact of social settings and contexts on the development of intellectuals, their relationship with power structures, the types, living conditions, and future prospects of contemporary intellectuals—many compelling and thought-provoking issues are analyzed with sharp insight, originality, and persuasive arguments in this book. Published over 30 years ago, it has long been renowned in Western sociology and has become a representative work on the history of Western intellectuals and intellectual sociology.