The romanticism of agency/structure versus the analysis of micro/macro

Article Abstract:

The interest in agency and structure within sociology represents an ideological movement away from the goal of explaining society and should be abandoned in favor of integrating micro and macro sociological analysis. Agency/structure offers a romantic fantasy of power based on a misinterpretation of micro sociological theory. For example, political revolutions, cited as examples of agency, can be completely explained by existing sociological theory. Anthony Giddens' attempt to synthesize agency/structure and micro/macro is limited by the ideological deficits of agency/structure theory.

Criticism and interpretation, Interpersonal relations, Social action, Social structure, Social interaction, Giddens, Anthony

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Le tournant descriptif en sociologie

Article Abstract:

The turn to description is necessary for sociology to suspend prejudgments about an objective world. However, description has different characteristics and presuppositions in ethnography, phenomenology or 'radical inquiry' and the grammatical analysis of Wittgenstein. Although description inevitably includes interpretation, it can still be distinguished from causal explanation. A descriptive project for sociology is not incoherent although it may be difficult to realize. Article text is in French.

Analysis, Description (Rhetoric)

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Social complexity and the micro-macro link

Article Abstract:

The problem of micro-macro link is analyzed with two alternative frameworks of methodological individualism and methodological holism. The challenge for social sciences in the future is to ascertain the different possible types of micro-macro relations in concrete cases, transforming a problem that has traditionally been understood in philosophical terms into the object of scientific enquiry.

Comparative analysis, Individualism, Holism, Individuality

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