ABSTRACT
Dawe (1970) describes two types of sociologies. The first concerns social systems. It specifies social constraint as necessary for the well-being of society and of the individual and regards the social system as being ‘ontologically prior’ to its participants. The second type of sociology is interpretative. It sees individuals as autonomous and able to create a ‘truly human’ social order only when liberated from outside constraints. In this view, society is regarded as a creation of its members, a product of their ‘construction of meaning’ and of the ‘action and relationships’ by which they try to impose this meaning on their situation.
