Social structure, history and evolution

Bibliographic Data

ID2160252
AuthorsPeter Lassman
Year1984
Volume13
Issue1
Pages1-19
Publication date1984-02-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueEconomy and Society (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0308-5147 • E-ISSN: 1469-5766
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/03085148400000001
OpenAlexW2069976522
LanguageEN
Citations received2
References cited12

The tension within much comparative and historical sociology between social structural and narrative explanations forms the background against which the development of an evolutionary social theory in the work of Jurgen Habermas can be understood. Habermas has attempted to 'reconstruct' historical materialism as an evolutionary theory capable of avoiding the uncertainties and ambiguities of historiography. Nevertheless, some fundamental problems remain unRESOlved. Neither the explanatory nor the critical nature of a reconstructed evolutionary theory of society has been made clear. This is important because the reconstructed evolutionary theory is a fundamental support for both his ethical theory and his diagnosis of the 'crisis' of 'late capitalism'. If our final judgement upon Habermas's general theory is negative this is not to deny that it poses some basic questions for the whole sociological project

Capitalism · Critical theory · Economics · Epistemology · Evolutionary theory · Historical materialism · Historiography · Judgement · Marxist philosophy · Materialism · Narrative · Political science · Positive economics · Social evolution · Social science · Social theory · Sociocultural evolution · Sociology · Contemporary Sociological Theory and Practice · Critical Realism in Sociology · Critical Theory and Philosophy · Law · Philosophy