ABSTRACT
Sociology – or at least American sociology, which will be the focus of this paper – remains confused about causality. It remains confused because American sociology, like American culture more broadly, is deeply empiricist. That empiricism, this paper will show, stifles conceptual thought about causality, yielding in the end only the most meager understanding of causality, an understanding shared ironically enough by both supporters and critics of an enduring positivism.
