About the Book
Perspectives in Sociological Theory is organized so that the diversity of sociological theory is emphasized and encompassed within several issues.
First, a distinction between theory and theories is made, theory seen to be broader in that it refers to meaning, including concepts, models, paradigms, and perspectives. In contrast, theories refer to a more restricted sense of theory as school (e.g., Social Exchange, Organizational theory).
Second, the text gives an equal emphasis to humanistic sociology (e.g., Subjective Idealistic theories) as to scientific sociology (e.g., Empricist, Neo-positivistic theories). This is important given the recent emergence of Qualitative (idealist) sociology to a nearly equal status with the heretofore dominant Quantitative (tough-minded) sociology.
Third, theories or schools tend to imply or be related to methodological tendencies, e.g, subjective idealism with Symbolic Interactionism and Neo-positivism with Social Exchange.
Fourth, there are ideological differences within and across theories that are assessed. A fifth distinction amont theories or schools is their views of the purpose of sociological knowledge: to describe, predict, explain, understand, preserve or lead to change.
Theory is a set of abstract ideas that attempts to explain social phenomena. The varied perspectives within sociological theory provide us with greater attempts at understanding society.
