The sociological theories are complex theoretical executives. The sociologists employ them to explain and analyze differently how the social action, the social processes,… and the social structures function.

They are called sometimes the social theories, although the posterior limit generally refers to the interdisciplinary theory. While seeking to include/understand the company, the sociologists employ the sociological theory and the interdisciplinary social theories to organize social research.

Different designs

Currents, approaches, schools, or sociological movements form as many practices different and divergent opinions on nature from sociology or some from its apects. That prohibits to give an acceptable single definition by all.

If there are several sociological traditions today, none can claim to only summarize the sociological activity with it, nor to describe the sociological activity in a consensual way.

Bodies of assumptions

The sociological theories are based on certain basic assumptions (metaphysics, epistemological or morals) about the nature of the social world. These theories are sometimes antinomyque such as for example positivism and the antipositivism, the materialism and the idealism, the determinism and liberalism as well as individualism and collectivism.

Some theories, such as the theory néo-Marxist, the feminist theory and of the alternatives of the social constructionism, are often justified by a direction strong of social justice and concerned with the release of oppression and the exploitation.

Other social theories, such as the structural theory of functionalism and the systems, can be moved by a concern with the scientific objectivity and the apparent neutrality (which can require engagements of value, sometimes masked, like the conformity or the acceptance of the status quo in a given company).

Another dimension of the theory refers to the nature of the development socio-history and the actual position of the development of various companies. The distinctions are employed about the contemporary companies in the sociological theory include broad historical tendencies such as industrialization, the urbanization, the underdevelopment, and the globalisation and the stages of the development such as modernity, the post-industrialist, the underdevelopment, the postmodernity, and the company of network.

Distinctions of terms of use

The comprehension of the discipline passes by a minimum of definition of certain terms (used in addition in other disciplines well before the appearance of institutionalized sociology). It is in particular about concept, paradigm, standard and concept.

- One names concept an idea or representation of the spirit. It shortens and summarizes a multiplicity of empirical or mental objects per abstraction and generalization of identifiable common features.

- A paradigm is rather the detail of a representation of the world, a manner of seeing the things, a coherent model of vision of the world which rests on a definite basis (disciplinary matrix, ideal model or current of thought).

- Norme (of Latin normalized, square, rule) indicates a usually widespread or average state considered generally as a rule to follow:.

- The “ concept ” must be seen like a “elementary knowledge, acquired something” .

Designs more specific to the discipline were built:

  • a Ideal-type is a sociological concept defined by max Weber. It aims, for Weber, to build a model of a social phenomenon which one seeks to study for his intrinsic qualities. The ideal-type will be re-used thereafter by theorists of the organizations to calibrate studies empirical S devoted to the Bureaucratie.

  • the habitus is a whole of provisions durable and transposable, prompt structure structured to function like structuring structure (a reference to the Conatus , fundamental concept of the Éthique of Spinoza). It is about the incorporation of the experiments, this incorporation will then make it possible the agent to be driven and interpret the social world.

Principal sociological theories

The majority of the “great” sociological theories are developed starting from particular sociological paradigms (and become a broad school of thought in sociology). Principal sociological theories:

  • the social Positivism: The positivists of social believe that social processes should be studied in terms of cause and effect by using the scientific method.

  • the Functionalism: also known like social paradigm of systems. It is a question of analyzing which functions the various elements of the social system carry out by total system report/ratio: Talcott Parsons, relativized fontionalism of Robert K. Merton, critics of functionalism (Charles W. Millets, structuro-fonctioalism of Alvine W. Gouldner, Ralf Dahrendorf, D. Cloche) and the Néofontionalisme.
  • the Marxist sociology:
    • historical Materialism,
    • Théorie criticizes company: The Marxism hegelien and its evolution, social theory of Horkheimer.
    • structural Marxism: Althusser and Nikos Poulantzas,
    • Marxist Sociology: economic sociology Marxist (H. Braverman, R. Edwards, Mr. Burawoy), historical Marxism (Immanuel Wallerstein, Th. Skocpol),
    • Theories postmarxists: Marxism of the election rational (J. Roemer, J. Elster), empirical Marxism of orientation (Wright), postmodern Marxist theory (Laclau, Mouffe, Fredric Jameson, D. Harvey). Other theories: S. Bowles and H. Gintis.
  • the college of sociology:
  • anti-utilitarian criticism :
  • the Postmodernisme sociology of Anthony Giddens: Duality of the structure: communication, sanction, capacity, institutions and properties structural.
  • the theory of the kinds: study on the way in which the opposition canonical between masculine and female structure social life.
  • the Theory of the conflict: pseudosociology resulting from the Marxism, it acts of the study of the capacity of some groups to dominate of others, and a tactical aiming as for a resistance to such a domination.
  • the microsociologic Analyzes:
    • Theory of exchange (psychological reductionnism of Homans), prospects integrating for the exchange (Peter Blau, R. Emerson).
    • Theory of the rational choice: model the social behavior like interaction of the individuals of maximum of utility (J. Coleman).
  • the interpretative Sociology: This theoretical prospect, based on the work of max Weber, proposes that economic and historical research can never not be entirely empirical or descriptive as one must always approach it with a conceptual apparatus.
    • phenomenologic sociology: Intersubjectivity, methodological Constructivisme of Alfred Schütz and the social construction of the reality of Peter Shepherd and Thomas Luckmann.
    • the Interactionnisme: examine how shared significances and the social models are developed during the social interactions: H. Blumer, analyzes dramatúrgico dramaturgic prospect - a paradigm specialized for the interactionism symbolic system developed by Erving Goffman (and frameworks of the experiment), seeing the life like the execution, new the Interactionnisme symbolic system.
    • the Ethnométhodologie: examine how people include themselves/understand out of the social life in the course of lived, as if each one were a researcher occupied in the investigation. Alternatives: H. Garfinkel, Cicourel, Schegloff,…
  • the genetic Structuralism of Pierre Bourdieu: habitus, field, capital, violence symbolic system, social reproduction, Domination.
  • Post-structralisme of Michel Foucault: Epistemological alternative, archeology of the knowledge, genealogy of the capacity.
  • Theory to act it communication of Habermas: Communicative paradigm, communicative Action.
  • systemic Theory of Luhmann: Communication like component, interactions, organizations and companies, social differentiation and principal subsystems of the company.
  • the era of the information of Manual Manors house: Informational paradigm, factors and social relations prédominantes.

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Some other theories & sociologists

Some places of development

  • the School of the High Studies in Social sciences of Paris (EHESS), Luc Boltanski, Edgar Morin, Raymond Aron, Alain Touraine, Pierre Bourdieu, Marcel Gauchet

  • the School of Contemporary European Studies of the University of Reading to the United Kingdom, Lehman, Andrewski and Giner
  • the Department of Sociology of the University of Constanza, Ralf Dahrendorf
  • the Institute of Sociology of the University of Brussels, Henri Janne
  • the Institute of higher learning of Sociology of the University of Milan, Renato Truces, Angelo Pagani and Francesco Alberoni
  • the Faculty of Letters of the Rich University of Port, Jorge Enjuto
  • the Department Sociology and Political science of the Federal University of Mexico, Modeste Seara
  • the Division of the Inter-American Businesses of the University of New Mexico, Martín C. Needler
  • the Department of Political science the University of Michigan, Kenneeth Organski, Sam Barnes
  • the Faculty of Sociology of the University of Cologne, Rene König
  • the College of Europe of Bruges, Henri Brugsmans
  • the Institute of Political Studies of Paris, Maurice Duverger , Georges Lavau, Serge Hurtig
  • the Institute of Political sciences and Social of the University of Rome, Paolo Ammassari, Mine Vianello
  • the School of the Businesses of the University of Pittsburg in Pensilvanie, William Frederick
  • the Italian Committee of Political sciences and Social, Alberto Spreafico
  • the Council of Research in Social science the United States, Joseph Palombara
  • the Faculty of Social sciences of the University of Montreal, Marcel Rioux and Jacques Dofny
  • the Institute of Edonomie Applied, François Perroux
  • the Department Sociology and Anthropology of the University of Washington with St Louis, Missouri, Irving Louis Horowitz
  • the Re-examined MAUSS
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