New Rules of Sociological Method: Second Edition - Softcover

Giddens, Anthony

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0804722269 ISBN 13: 9780804722261

Publisher: Stanford University Press, 1993

Synopsis

This is a new and revised edition of a book which has established itself as a basic text in social theory. The first section of the work provides a concise critical analysis of some leading schools of thought in social philosophy, giving particular attention to phenomenology, ethnomethodology, and Wittgensteinian thought. Giddens concentrates primarily upon the implications of these various perspectives for an account of human action and its intelligibility. An 'action approach' on its own, however, will not do; in human social life, action and structure presuppose one another. The author therefore moves on to provide a series of concepts relevant to understanding the production and reproduction of society. The book concludes with a succinct statement of some 'new rules of sociological method.'

Representing the first, and most trenchant, exposition of the principles of structuration theory, this edition also contains a substantial new Introduction in which Giddens replies to some of the more persistent criticisms made of the original version and also addresses some important issues originally discussed only in a cursory way.

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Review

RThe book had an enormous impact when it was first published, and it has not 'dated' in the least. Indeed, I would contend that it is perhaps the central work in Giddens's corpus and that it is as relevant today as when it was first published. New Rules, with its ambitious title patterned after Durkheim's classic work, was and remains an aggressive contribution to social theory. Well judged adjustments to the text, together with the new and substantial preface, only enhance the book in its new edition.S John Heritage, University of California, Los Angeles

Synopsis

This is a revised edition of a classic work, first published in 1977, by a distinguished scholar on how he perceives social theory ought to be constructed and conducted. The book has established itself as a standard text for courses in social theory and methodology all over the world. It offers a cogent critique of schools of social thought that continue to occupy a central place in debates and controversies today, and it outlines the basic notions of philosophies of action, existential phenomenology, hermeneutics, and critical theory. This edition of New Rules has been thoroughly re-edited and revised. Though the basic structure of the arguments has not been changed, some sections that have become dated have been either eliminated or rewritten. The book has been the focus of various debates since it first appeared and for this reason, Giddens has written an extensive Preface for this revised edition of New Rules that engages a number of questions consistently raised by critics.

Edition details

• Publisher: Stanford University Press
• Publication date: 1993
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0804722269
• ISBN 13: 9780804722261
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 2
• Number of pages: 196