Imagining Sociological Theory: Charles Turner, Investigating Sociological Theory

Sociological Rational Choice Theory

Although rational choice theory has made considerable advances in other social sciences, its progress in sociology has been limited. Some sociologists’ reservations about rational choice arise from a misunderstanding of the theory. The first part of this essay therefore introduces rational choice as a general theoretical perspective, or family of theories, which explains social outcomes by cons...

Sociological Theory and Rational

Rational choice or action theory may be understood as one possible interpretation of Weber's program, though it must be said a rather special one in that it invites us to adopt the least complex conception of social action that we can analytically get away with in arriving at a "causal explanation of its course and effects." It thus departs from many post-Weberian (and for that matter pre-Weber...

Challenges in Sociological Theory

The main challenge, I think, to sociological theory or to social theory more broadly remains that of bridging the gap between what Mills (1959), nearly 60 years ago, called " grand theory " and " abstracted empiricism. " Over 200 years ago, Kant (1781) formulated a similar conception, that " thoughts without content are empty and perceptions without concepts are blind " (Gedanken ohne Inhalt si...

Feminist Sociological Theory

A Sociological Theory

Includes bibliographical references and index.