Nominalist visualities and classical social theory

An examination of Durkheim and Weber

Bibliographic Data

ID8975233
AuthorsRonjon Paul Datta (0000-0002-6439-9749, Department of Sociology, Anthropology, and Criminology The University of Windsor Windsor Canada, corresponding author), Ariane Hanemaayer (0000-0001-6921-6887, Department of Sociology Brandon University Brandon Canada)
Year2021
Volume51
Issue4
Pages565-586
Publication date2021-04-25
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal for the Theory of Social Behaviour (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0021-8308 • E-ISSN: 1468-5914
PublisherWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1111/jtsb.12281
OpenAlexW3177064620
LanguageEN
Citations received2
References cited67

This paper elucidates a range of the potentials and limitations of nominalist sensibilities in social theory through an examination of their presence in Durkheim and Weber. Nominalism, which emerged in early modern western thought, holds that only individual particular cases exist and that there are no universals or generalities beyond mentally or linguistically constructed concepts; it also introduced new conceptions of will and voluntarism. Nominalism was variously transposed into classical social theories including those of Durkheim and Weber. In our theoretical methodology, we assess tensions between nominalist and realist visualities and modes of reasoning in their works. We conclude by discussing assessments of nominalism, attending to its enduring critical contributions while also explicating a reflexive critique of nominalism as mimetic of chaotic and pathological forms of social organisation

Epistemology · Nominalism · Problem of universals · Sociology · Critical Realism in Sociology · Emile Durkheim and Sociology · Philosophy · Weber, Simmel, Sociological Theory

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