Social theory
Social theory refers to the use of
theoretical frameworks to explain and analyze
social patterns and large-scale
social structures.
Though many commentators consider social theory a branch of
sociology, it functions inherently in an
interdisciplinary manner, as it uses ideas from and contributes to a plethora of disciplines such as
anthropology,
economics,
theology,
history, and many others.
Social theory attempts to answer the question 'what is?', not 'what should be?'. One should therefore not confuse it with
philosophy or with
belief.
Harrington in his work
Modern Social Theory: an introduction (2005) discusses the meaning of social theory, stating that while the term did not exist in any language before the twentieth century, its origins are ancient and lie in two words, ‘social' from the Latin
socius and ‘theory' from the Greek
theoria. In ancient times, theoria meant contemplation and reflection. It helped the Greeks make sense of their lives, and to question the value and meaning of things around them. Social theory emerged at the same time as modernity and was largely equated with an attitude of critical thinking, based on rationality, logic and objectivity, and the desire for knowledge through ‘aposteriori' methods of discovery, rather than ‘apriori' methods of tradition.
Main article: sociology versus social theory
Social theory always had an uneasy relationship with the more traditional
academic disciplines; many of its key thinkers never held a university position.
Compared to workers in disciplines within the "
objective"
natural sciences social theorists may make less use of the
scientific method and of other fact-based methods to prove a point. Instead, they tackle very large-scale social trends and structures using
hypotheses that they cannot easily prove, except over the course of time. Criticism from opponents of social theories often objects to this. Extremely critical theorists, such as
deconstructionists or
postmodernists, may argue that any type of research or method has inherent flaws. Often, however, thinkers may present their ideas as social theory because the social reality that those ideas describe appears so overarching as to remain unprovable. The social theories of
modernity or
anarchy can exemplify this.
However, social theories still play a major part in the sciences of
sociology,
anthropology,
economics, and others. Objective science-based research often begins with a hypothesis formed from a social theory. Likewise, science-based research can often provide support for social theories or can spawn new ones.
For instance, statistical research grounded in the scientific method that finds a severe
income disparity between women and men performing the same occupation can complement the underlying premises of the complex social theories of
feminism or of
patriarchy.
In general, and in particular among adherents of
pure sociology, social theory has appeal because it takes the focus away from the individual (the way in which most humans look at the world) and focuses it on the society itself and the social forces which control individuals' lives. This sociological insight (often termed the
sociological imagination) has appealed to students and others dissatisfied with the
status quo because it looks beyond the assumption of societal structures and patterns as purely
random.
Pre-classical social theorists
Prior to
19th century, social theory took largely
narrative and
normative traits. Expressed in story form, it both assumed ethical principles and recommended moral acts. Thus one can regard religious figures as the earliest social theorists.
Saint Augustine (354 - 430) and
St. Thomas Aquinas (
circa 1225 - 1274) concerned themselves exclusively with a
just society. St. Augustine describes late
Ancient Roman society but through a lens of hatred and contempt for what he saw as false
Gods, and in reaction theorized
The City of God. Similarly, in
China,
Master Kong (otherwise known as
Confucius) (551 - 479 BCE) envisaged a just society that went beyond his contemporary society of the
Warring States. Later on, also in China,
Mozi (
circa 470 -
circa 390 BCE) recommended a more pragmatic sociology, but ethical at base.
Classical social theory
The first "modern" social theories (known as classical theories) that begin to resemble the analytic social theory of today developed almost simultaneously with the birth of the science of sociology.
Auguste Comte (1798 - 1857), known as the 'father of sociology', laid the groundwork for one of the first social theories -
social evolutionism. In the
19th century three great classical theories of social and historical change emerged: the
social evolutionism theory (of which
Social Darwinism forms a part), the
social cycle theory and the
Marxist historical materialism theory.
Another early modern theorist,
Herbert Spencer (1820 - 1903), coined the term "
survival of the fittest" (and incidentally recommended avoidance of governmental action on behalf of the poor (
socialism) as a positive act).
Vilfredo Pareto (1848 - 1923) and
Pitirim A. Sorokin argued that 'history goes in cycles', and presented the
social cycle theory to illustrate their point.
Ferdinand Tönnies (1855 - 1936) made
community and
society (
Gemeinschaft and Gesellschaft, 1887) the special topics of the new science of "sociology", both of them based on different modes of
will of
social actors.
Emile Durkheim postulated a number of major theories regarding
anomie and
functionalism.
Max Weber theorized on
bureaucracy,
religion, and
authority.
Karl Marx theorized on the
class struggle and
social progress towards
communism and laid the groundwork for the theory that became known as
Marxism. Marxism became more than a theory, of course, carrying deep implications over the course of 20th century history (including the
Russian Revolution of 1917).
Most of the 19th century pioneers of social theory and sociology, like Saint-Simon, Comte, Marx,
John Stuart Mill or Spencer, never held university posts. Most people regarded them as
philosophers, because much of the their thinking was interdisciplinary and "outside the box" of the existing disciplines of their time (eg:,
philology,
law, and
history).
Many of the classical theories had one common factor: they all agreed that the
history of humanity is pursuing a certain fixed path. They differed on where that path would lead:
social progress,
technological progress, decline or even fall, etc. Social cycle theorists were much more skeptical of the Western achievements and technological progress, however, arguing that progress is but an illusion in of the ups and downs of the historical cycles. The classical approach has been criticized by many modern sociologists and theorists, among them
Karl Popper,
Robert Nisbet,
Charles Tilly and
Immanuel Wallerstein.
Modern social theory
Although the majority of 19th-century social theories now class as obsolete, they have spawned new, modern social theories. Some modern social theories represent some advanced version of the classical theories, like
Multilineal theories of evolution (
neoevolutionism,
sociobiology,
theory of modernization,
theory of post-industrial society) and various strains of
Neo-Marxism.
In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, by a more or less arbitrary division of topics, the social theory became most closely related to academic
sociology while other subjects such as
anthropology,
philosophy, and
social work branched out into their own disciplines. Such subjects as "
philosophy of history" withered, and their subject matter became part of social theory as taught in sociology.
Attempts to recapture a space for discussion free of disciplines began in earnest in the late
1920s and early
1930s. The
Frankfurt Institute for Social Research provides the most successful example. The
Committee on Social Thought at the
University of Chicago followed in the
1940s. In the
1970s, programs in
Social and Political Thought were established at
Sussex and
York. Others followed, with various different emphases and structures, such as
Social Theory and History (
University of California, Davis).
Cultural Studies programs, notably that of
Birmingham University, extended the concerns of social theory into the domain of
culture and thus
anthropology. A chair and undergraduate program in social theory was established at the
University of Melbourne and a number of universities now specialize in social theory (
UC-Santa Cruz is one example). Finally social theory seems to be gaining more acceptance as a classical academic discipline.
In modern times, generally speaking, social theory began to stress free will, individual choice, subjective reasoning, and the importance of unpredictable events in place of the classic
determinism â€" thus social theory become much more complex.
Rational Choice Theory and
Symbolic Interactionism furnish two examples. Most modern sociologists deem there are no great unifying 'laws of history', but rather smaller, more specific, and more complex laws that govern society.
Post-modern social theory
See also
post-modern feminism and
postmodernism.
*
Functionalism (sociology)*
Interactionism*
Postmodernism*
Post-structuralism*
Critical Theory*
Literary Theory*
Culture Theory*
Feminist Theory*
Queer Theory*
Post-colonialism*
Social cycle theory*
The International Social Theory Consortium*
Theoria: A Journal of Social and Political Theory*
Sociological Theorists*
Social theory and popular culture
