ABSTRACT
Several sciences, some of which are as old as philosophy, fall under the umbrella of social research. Parallel with the history of philosophy we have previously discussed political theory (beginning with the Sophists). We have also mentioned historiography (from Herodotus and Thucydides to Vico and Dilthey), jurisprudence (Cicero and Bentham), and pedagogics (from Socrates to Dewey). Furthermore, we have discussed economics (Smith, Ricardo, and Marx) and the tendency to shape the social sciences through the use of utilitarian categories, and at the same time we have hinted at another more historically oriented type of social research (based on Hegel's thought). In this chapter we will survey the rise of sociology, with figures such as Comte, Tocqueville, Monies, Simmel, Durkheim, Weber, and Parsons. We will concentrate especially on their analysis of modern society and the status of sociology.
