New Rules of Sociological Method — A Constructive Critique of Interpretive Sociology (Social Theory Translation Series): A Constructive Critique of Interpretive Sociology

Author: Anthony Giddens
Publisher:
Publication Date: 2003-12-01
Features: This book is a foundational textbook in social theory, and this is its newly revised edition. In this edition, Giddens presents a concise critical analysis of some major schools of thought in social philosophy, particularly phenomenology, ethnomethodology, and the thought of Wittgenstein. Giddens primarily focuses on the implications of these differing perspectives for human action and its intelligibility. However, "the path of action" cannot function in isolation; in the social life of human societies, action and structure are mutually presupposed. Therefore, the author turns to providing a series of concepts related to understanding social production and reproduction. In the conclusion, the book offers a concise summary of some "new rules of sociological method." This revised edition clearly reiterates the fundamental principles of structuration theory. Additionally, it includes a substantive, entirely new introduction in which Giddens responds to certain criticisms that have continuously been directed at the book since its first publication and re-elaborates some important topics that were only briefly discussed earlier. To understand the mysteries of Giddens' theoretical edifice, this book is a necessary threshold to cross. For a long time, it has been widely welcomed as a foundational textbook by undergraduate and postgraduate students and researchers in relevant fields in the West.