Social action

By Tuomela, Raimo

Most of our actions take place in a social context and are, accordingly, in one way or another, dependent on the existence of other persons and their relevant ...

Explanation in history and social science

By Ruben, David-Hillel

Historians and social scientists explain at least two sorts of things: (a) those individual human actions that have historical or social significance, such as Stalin’s decision to hold ...

Kim Iryŏp (1896–1971)

Philosophy and women have been an odd couple. In both the East and the West, thought traditions have been dominated by male thinkers. Buddhism is no exception. The ...

Society, concept of

By Ross, Angus

The term ‘society’ is broader than ‘human society’. Many other species are described as possessing a social way of life. Yet mere gregariousness, of the kind found in ...

Needs and interests

By Weale, Albert

To have an interest in something is to have a stake in how that thing goes. Needs can be thought of as interests instrumental to a specified purpose, ...

Habermas, Jürgen (1929–)

By Baynes, Kenneth

Jürgen Habermas, German philosopher and social theorist, is perhaps best known for his wide-ranging defence of the modern public sphere and its related ideals of publicity and free ...

Equality

By Weale, Albert

Equality has long been a source of political and philosophical controversy. A central question about equality is how one might link empirical or moral claims about the extent ...

Weber, Max (1864–1920)

By Turner, Stephen P.; Factor, Regis A.

Max Weber, German economist, historian, sociologist, methodologist, and political thinker, is of philosophical significance for his attempted reconciliation of historical relativism with the possibility of a causal social ...

Lu Xiangshan (1139–93)

By Birdwhistell, Anne D.

A leading Chinese philosopher of the twelfth century, Lu Xiangshan was the founder of that dimension of neo-Confucian thought known as the learning of the heart-and-mind. Lu emphasized ...

Sociology, theories of

By Alexander, Jeffrey C.

Throughout the history of sociology, three types of theorizing have co-existed, sometimes uneasily. ‘Theories of’ provide abstract models of empirical processes; they function both as guides for sociological ...

Structuralism

By Culler, Jonathan

The term ‘structuralism’ can be applied to any analysis that emphasizes structures and relations, but it usually designates a twentieth-century European (especially French) school of thought that applies ...

Schleiermacher, Friedrich Daniel Ernst (1768–1834)

By Meckenstock, Gunter
Translated by Finlayson, J.G.

Friedrich Daniel Ernst Schleiermacher was the most notable German-speaking protestant theologian of the nineteenth century. He gave significant impetus to the re-orientation of theology after the Age of ...

Social sciences, philosophy of

By Ruben, David-Hillel

Although some of the topics and issues treated in the philosophy of social science are as old as philosophy itself (for example, the contrast between nature and convention ...

Social science, history of philosophy of

By Manicas, Peter T.

The history of social science can conveniently be divided into four uneven periods, starting with the beginnings of both western science and philosophy in the ancient Greek ...

Nihilism, Russian

By Lovell, Stephen

The term ’Nihilist’, although it was first used in Russian as early as 1829, only acquired its present significance in Turgenev’s novel Ottsy i deti (Fathers and Sons) ...

Mead, George Herbert (1863–1931)

By Joas, Hans

Together with Charles Peirce, William James and John Dewey, George Herbert Mead is considered one of the classic representatives of American pragmatism. He is most famous for his ...

Mohist philosophy

By Ivanhoe, Philip J.

Mohist philosophy describes the broad-ranging philosophical tradition initiated by Mo Ti or Mozi (Master Mo) in the fifth century bc. Mozi was probably of quite humble origins, ...

Rational choice theory

By Hardin, Russell

Rational choice theory is the descendant of earlier philosophical political economy. Its core is the effort to explain and sometimes to justify collective results of individuals acting from ...

Confucian philosophy, Chinese

By Cua, A.S.

Chinese Confucian philosophy is primarily a set of ethical ideas oriented toward practice. Characteristically, it stresses the traditional boundaries of ethical responsibility and dao, or the ideal ...

Gehlen, Arnold (1904–76)

By Turner, B.S.

Gehlen, a Professor of Sociology, is now widely recognized as the founder of ‘philosophical anthropology’. He has had a significant impact on both social philosophy and sociology. Concerned ...

Islamic fundamentalism

By Choueiri, Youssef

The philosophical roots of Islamic fundamentalism are largely the result of a conscious attempt to revive and restate the theoretical relevance of Islam in the modern world. The ...

Jewish philosophy

By Goodman, L.E.

Jewish philosophy is philosophical inquiry informed by the texts, traditions and experiences of the Jewish people. Its concerns range from the farthest reaches of cosmological speculation to the ...

Social epistemology

By Schmitt, Frederick F.

Social epistemology is the conceptual and normative study of the relevance to knowledge of social relations, interests and institutions. It is thus to be distinguished from the sociology ...

Locke, John (1632–1704)

By Ayers, Michael

John Locke was the first of the empiricist opponents of Descartes to achieve comparable authority among his European contemporaries. Together with Newton’s physics, the philosophy of An Essay ...

Temple, William (1881–1944)

By Yandell, Keith E.

William Temple was concerned to unite personal Christian religion and social action, finding in the doctrine of the incarnation of God in Jesus Christ the basis for human ...