New Rules of Sociological Method: A Positive Critique of Interpretative Sociologies

by Anthony Giddens

Book by Giddens, Anthony

Genres: Sociology, Nonfiction, Philosophy, Social Science

186 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1976

About the author

Anthony Giddens, Baron Giddens (born 18 January 1938) is a British sociologist who is renowned for his theory of structuration and his holistic view of modern societies. He is considered to be one of the most prominent modern contributors in the field of sociology, the author of at least 34 books, published in at least 29 languages, issuing on average more than one book every year. In 2007, Giddens was listed as the fifth most-referenced author of books in the humanities.

Three notable stages can be identified in his academic life. The first one involved outlining a new vision of what sociology is, presenting a theoretical and methodological understanding of that field, based on a critical reinterpretation of the classics. His major publications of that era include Capitalism and Modern Social Theory (1971) and New Rules of Sociological Method (1976). In the second stage Giddens developed the theory of structuration, an analysis of agency and structure, in which primacy is granted to neither. His works of that period, such as Central Problems in Social Theory (1979) and The Constitution of Society (1984), brought him international fame on the sociological arena.

The most recent stage concerns modernity, globalization and politics, especially the impact of modernity on social and personal life. This stage is reflected by his critique of postmodernity, and discussions of a new "utopian-realist"[3] third way in politics, visible in the Consequence of Modernity (1990), Modernity and Self-Identity (1991), The Transformation of Intimacy (1992), Beyond Left and Right (1994) and The Third Way: The Renewal of Social Democracy (1998). Giddens' ambition is both to recast social theory and to re-examine our understanding of the development and trajectory of modernity.

Currently Giddens serves as Emeritus Professor at the London School of Economics.

Reviews

[Titus Hjelm]

Possibly the most interestign of Giddens' work I've read so far. While 'Capitalism and Social Theory', for example, is commentary of the classical tradition, here Giddens engages with metatheory. Fascinating.

[Leo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Giddens challenged the schools of understanding human beings' social actions then, particularly targeting the tradition of interpretative sociology. The main critique he posed, as I understand, lies in the way how such interpretative sociology tradition tackles the "society" and interprets the order and integration of it. The focus placed on the "internalized value" and "social convention/norm" by the structuralism and functionalism and the efforts of interpreting human being's social actions against such "things", ignored the problem of the production/formation of these "things", and therefore disproportionately downplayed the social members' intention and capability to "produce" the social world during the reproduction dynamics. Proposed new "methods" (certainly not in a mandatory sense) for interpreting and studying social actions, Giddens, though he was very cautious in portraying the human society as a product of the social members intended efforts, attacked harshly the tradition of studying the human society as if there exists any mechanical laws or predetermined result in the society. Introducing the term "structuration", Giddens certainly attempted to re-find "agency" in social reproduction--and his argument leads to the rising importance of studying power and struggle to understand the human society and social actions. The "structure" of human society, he argued, was both result of and medium for social actions of human beings.

For Giddens this work may need to be so lengthy and detailed as he needed to well lay a battlefield and identify the target of his critique. For readers knowing enough about traditions and main schools of sociology, however, this book could be hundreds pages shorter without blurring its main ideas or weakening its main arguments.

[Clare Russell · Rating 5 out of 5]

This blew me away in its clear trenchant analysis of how cultures are formed. It’s a bit complex in parts with references to the history of sociology but definitely hang on until the last couple of chapters where it really comes together.

[John Wilson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating, ontological. Some seriously interesting ideas. What can I say read it yourself if you're interested in sociology, politics or that kind of thing.

[A Meneses · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don't like Giddens