Antonio Robert J
Sociology Department, University of Kansas, Kansas, USA.
Am Sociol. 2023 Jan 27:1-13. doi: 10.1007/s12108-022-09562-z.
Charles Thorpe argues sociology lacks a "language of society as a whole." He holds that positivist sociologists de-legitimated holistic theories or broad normatively oriented "social theories," leaving the discipline without discursive means to critically assess and deliberate its overall directions and those of society. Thorpe does not address holistic theory directly or explain how it differs analytically from standard "sociological theory." My intent is to clarify these matters by extending facets of his argument to illuminate the interdependence between holistic theorizing and empirical-historical social science, which is necessary to create the type of "reflexive sociology" that Thorpe argues would make sociology more cosmopolitan and capable of addressing the turbulent sociopolitical conditions in the interregnum after neoliberalism.
查尔斯·索普认为，社会学缺乏一种“关于整个社会的语言”。他认为实证主义社会学家使整体论理论或广泛的规范性“社会理论”失去了合法性，导致该学科缺乏批判性评估和思考其总体方向以及社会总体方向的话语手段。索普没有直接探讨整体论理论，也没有解释它在分析上与标准的“社会学理论”有何不同。我的意图是通过扩展他论点的各个方面来澄清这些问题，以阐明整体论理论与经验历史社会科学之间的相互依存关系，而这种相互依存关系对于创建索普所说的那种“反思性社会学”是必要的，这种社会学将使社会学更具世界性，并能够应对新自由主义之后过渡时期动荡的社会政治状况。
