Elżbieta Hałas - Böcker

This book reintroduces the work of Florian Znaniecki (1882–1958) as an innovative constructor of modern sociology who viewed the processes of modernity through the prism of culture and rediscovers his relational thought on the emergence and transformation of cultural and social systems.Exploring the contribution of Znaniecki’s philosophy of culturalism to the cultural approach in sociology, it shows the importance of Znaniecki’s work for the foundation of sociology as one of the cultural sciences. Through an examination of his work on the world society from a cultural perspective, the author reveals Znaniecki to have been a pioneer of global sociology and shows that sociology has much to gain from a fuller appreciation of his legacy in its understanding of processes of social and cultural change.Aimed at students and researchers of sociology, Reintroducing Florian Znaniecki will appeal to those with interests in the dynamics of culture, the cultural sciences, theoretical sociology, and sociological methods. It presents stimulating analytical concepts and offers inspiration for research in many areas, including knowledge, science, education, creative leadership, the emergence of modern nations and world society.

This book reintroduces the work of Florian Znaniecki (1882–1958) as an innovative constructor of modern sociology who viewed the processes of modernity through the prism of culture and rediscovers his relational thought on the emergence and transformation of cultural and social systems.Exploring the contribution of Znaniecki’s philosophy of culturalism to the cultural approach in sociology, it shows the importance of Znaniecki’s work for the foundation of sociology as one of the cultural sciences. Through an examination of his work on the world society from a cultural perspective, the author reveals Znaniecki to have been a pioneer of global sociology and shows that sociology has much to gain from a fuller appreciation of his legacy in its understanding of processes of social and cultural change.Aimed at students and researchers of sociology, Reintroducing Florian Znaniecki will appeal to those with interests in the dynamics of culture, the cultural sciences, theoretical sociology, and sociological methods. It presents stimulating analytical concepts and offers inspiration for research in many areas, including knowledge, science, education, creative leadership, the emergence of modern nations and world society.

This is the first book addressing explicitly and specifically the methodological issues of relational sociology, and more broadly of the new relational paradigm in social sciences.

This is the first book addressing explicitly and specifically the methodological issues of relational sociology, and more broadly of the new relational paradigm in social sciences.

About a decade ago, an antagonistic debate on the ‘science war’ arose on both sides of the Atlantic. At issue was how far the social sciences could intervene in disentangling the practice of science. The debate has now calmed down, but has by no means been solved. As a continuation of the antagonism that once haunted the advocates of Karl Popper against those of Thomas Kuhn, versions of this animated debate are likely to arise again. In this light, the theory of inquiry once launched by Charles S. Peirce may prove valuable. Despite early efforts by, amongst others, Karl-Otto Apel and Jürgen Habermas, Peirce’s theory of inquiry remains largely unknown in the social sciences. It is the aim of this publication – the bulk of which was written long ago as a doctoral thesis – to place Peirce’s theory of inquiry in the centre of social science theory.

If the new cultural sociology is to gain firm grounds, it should rediscover the classic studies on cultural dynamics and cultural systems. This book contributes to a better understanding of Florian Znaniecki as an eminent culturologist and the lasting relevance of his theory of cultural becoming. Znaniecki opted for a humanistic approach that he called culturalism. Culturalism, founded on the principle of the humanistic coefficient, is applied also to the cultural person. The concept of social values makes this cultural approach an original one. The cultural logic and cultural ethos of Znaniecki’s thought is inherent in the very principle of a creative evolution of culture, augmenting his vision of a new civilization of the future and a world culture society.

This volume commemorates Richard H. Grathoff’s (1934–2013) contribution to interpretative sociology. Reconsidering the legacy of social phenomenology, it demonstrates the usefulness of concepts such as life-world, milieu and symbolic transcendence in the studies of sociocultural transformations.

Relational sociology draws attention to non-utilitarian aspects of sociality that reach beyond instrumental rationality, and presents the problem of relational reason. Shaping a civil society under cultural plurality requires reflection upon relational rationality. This book focuses on relational goods as an emergent effect of social relations, focusing on the issue of good life and the Good Society.The relational approach involves viewing social relations neither as an expression of the system nor as an individual action, but as a human reality in its own right, based on reciprocity.The authors explore the moral dimensions of sociality in various areas of social life. The aim is to enrich the understanding of relationality and of the significance of the relational theory of society.