ABSTRACT
In the previous chapter I indicated that relational sociology seeks an alternative to both individualism and holism by way of a focus upon interaction, relations and networks. In this chapter I explore these key concepts in more detail, along with several others, namely, worlds, conventions, resources and actors. The chapter begins with a discussion of the concept of relations and more specifically of a number of critiques of it that have been posited in the philosophical literature. My primary aim, having identified these critiques, is to devise a way of thinking about relations which does not succumb to them but I also seek to demonstrate the relevance of these critiques to sociology. I show how one of the key criticisms maps onto the individualism/holism dichotomy and discuss at some length how a further critique might apply to Bourdieu’s version of relational sociology.
