ABSTRACT
Toendowradicalpoliticalphilosophieswithspeculativecontent aloneistomissthepointofpopularresponsetoradicalappeals.They relypreciselyonthedegreetowhichradicalsolutionsseemdictated bysocialconflicts.Inseveralfundamentalways,therefore,Sorelunderstoodneitherthesourcesofhumanactionnorthedirectivevalue ofhistoricalknowledge.Theaprioricertificationofthetheoryof violenceisduetoSorel'sunwillingnesstoadmitthatviolenceis neithertheonlysourceofhistoricalmovement,nornecessarilythat formofchangesanctionedbyempiricalhistory.
