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According to some social theorists, we are ‘at the end of the social’. This book argues that such pronouncements may be premature, as we need to reengage with what sociologists have previously meant by ‘the social’. ‘Rethinking the Social’ is the first book to systematically analyse the different concepts of the social developed by Durkheim, Marx and Weber. It examines how the concept of the social became unproblematic for twentieth-century writers and suggests that debates surrounding this concept remain very much alive. Building on A. N. Whitehead’s work, Halewood develops a novel ‘philosophy of the social’.
“This is a deeply insightful analysis of the notion of the social in classical sociological theory. It makes a very significant contribution to the philosophy of the social and demonstrates the continued relevance of the concept.” —Gerard Delanty, University of Sussex
Acknowledgements; Abbreviations; 1. Rethinking the Social; 2. Durkheim Approaches the Social; 3. Durkheim’s Philosophy of the Social; 4. Marx on the Social and the Societal; 5. Weber’s “Sozial” Action; 6. The Early Death of the Problem of the Social; 7. Toward a Philosophy of the Social, Part I: Durkheim, Marx, Weber (and Simmel) Revisited; 8. Toward a Philosophy of the Social, Part II: Whitehead on Sociology, Societies and the Social; Notes; References; Index