Sociological metatheorising in the 1980s and 1990s: Philosophical aspects of some alternatives to the positivist specification

Valerii Pylypenko - Doctor of Science in Sociology, Professor / Leading Research Fellow (Department of History and Theory of Sociology), Institute of Sociology of National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine,Kyiv

ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9918-6217

Abstract. The paper provides a retrospective overview of metatheoretical research unfolding in the 1980s and 1990s. Philosophical aspects of some alternatives to the positivist specification have been analysed. Particular attention has been given to the interpretation of sociological metatheorising as the philosophy of social science (B.Fay). The next step is identification of characteristics related to the conception of metasociology as a dialogue with other social sciences, as well as with political and moral conversations about the social world. This conception was put forward by E.Fuhrman and W.Snizek. The author has also summarised S. Fuchs’s works that describe, compare and analyse cognitive styles of metatheorising in sociology.

Keywords: theorising, metatheorising, theory, metatheory, metasociology

Publication in: ukr | rus

References

Bourdieu, P., Wacquant, L. (2015). An invitation to reflexive sociology. Part II: The Chicago workshop. [In Ukrainian]. Kyiv, Ukraine: Meduza Press. [=Бурдьє 2015]

Fay, B. (1985). Theory and metatheory in social science — or, why the philosophy of social science is so hard. Metaphilosophy, 16(2–3), 150–165. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9973.1985.tb00161.x .

Fuchs, S. (1991). Metatheory as cognitive style. Sociological Perspectives, 34(3), 287–301. https://doi.org/10.2307/1389512 .

Fuchs, S. (1992). Metatheory and the sociology of sociology. Sociological Perspectives, 35(3), 531–535. https://doi.org/10.2307/1389334 .

Fuhrman, E., & Snizek, W. (1990). Neither proscience nor antiscience: Metasociology as dialogue. Sociological Forum, 5(1), 17–36. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01115135 .

Merton, R. K. (1968). The Matthew effect in science. Science, 159 (3810), 56–63. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.159.3810.56 .

Pylypenko, V. (2017). Metatheorising in sociology: Particularities, types and trends. [In Ukrainian]. Sociology: Theory, Methods, Marketing, 2, 59–76. [=Пилипенко 2017]

Reznik, V. (2017). J. H. Turner’s positivist (meta)theorising: Underpinnings and outlines for strategy. [In Ukrainian]. Sociology: Theory, Methods, Marketing, 4, 68–93. [=Резнік 2017]

Turner, J. H. (1990). The misuse and use of metatheory. Sociological Forum, 5(1), 37–53. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01115136 .

< Back to the table of contents

< Previous article of the issue Next article of the issue >

Sociological metatheorising in the 1980s and 1990s: Philosophical aspects of some alternatives to the positivist specification

stmm. 2019 (2): 121-142

UDC 316.2

DOI https://doi.org/10.15407/sociology2019.02.121