Theoretical Methods in Social History

Theoretical Methods in Social History examines how generality can be wrested from historical facts.
The book explores the various aspects on the application of social theory to historical materials. Chapters delve on various historical issues such as the sociological bias of Trotsky and De Tocqueville; functional analysis of class relations in Smelser and Bendix; and the analogy between intellectual productions. Historians and philosophers will find the book interesting.

Contents

Preface

1 What Theory in History Should Be and Do

Why General Ideas Are Justified

The Logical Positivist Version of Research

Quantitative Methods and Theoretical Methods

Epochal Interpretations

The Theoretical Character of Narrative

The Intellectual Tradition and This Book

Logic, Classes, and Causal Statements

A Case of Analogy

Explication

History in Modern Sociology

Empiricism and Theoretical Strategies

Technical Appendix: The Logic of Analogy

2 Analogy and Generality in Trotsky and de Tocqueville

The Sociological Bias of Trotsky and de Tocqueville

The Sociology of Authority

Authority and Effectiveness

The Social Construction of Authoritative Purposes

Democracy, Liberty, and Authority

Authority and Inequality or "Justice"

Structures of Authority and Strategic Groups

Authority and Symbols

Authority and Dual Power

The Implications of the Preceding Discussion

Geographical, Social, or Political Distribution as an Index of a Process

The Predispositions of Systems

Principles of Cumulative Causation

Virtual Choice

Conclusions

3 Functional Analysis of Class Relations in Smelser and Bendix

Smelser's Argument

Functional Explanation of Change

"Disturbance"

The Problems of Running a Family

Ideal Sequence Comparison

Comparative Histories of Roles

The Argument from Functional Completeness

The Theory and the Strategy

Bendix on Management Ideology

Identification of Ideological Problems

The Variety of Ideological Products

Analogy between Intellectual Productions

4 Conclusion

What Makes Human Actions Analogous?

The Logic of Concepts

References

Index