Pragmatism and the Social Analysis of Knowledge The Social Theory of Thought

Preface

Quotations

Introduction

I. The Sociology of Knowledge: A Hybrid Field

The Historical Background

An Ambiguous Enterprise

The Theoretical Orientation of Sociology

Three Fields: The Sociology of Knowledge, Pragmatism, and Social Psychology

Constructing a Social Theory of Thought

Reorientation.   

II. On the Social Nature of Knowledge

 Methodological Issues

The Problem of Ideology

 Knowledge Formation: Ideology Critique and Structure Critique

 Social Knowledge

The Neglected Role of Social Psychology

III. Pragmatism as a Social Theory of Knowledge: John Dewey

Why Pragmatism?

European Bridges: Scheler, Mannheim, and Durkheim

Dewey’s Social Pragmatism

The Social Nature of Inquiry

Historicism and Evolutionism

Anti-Dualism

Dewey’s Pragmatism and Social Theory                                    

Values in Social Science

Evaluative Principles in Dewey

IV. Pragmatism as a Social Theory of Thought: G. H. Mead and Kenneth Burke

Social Self and Social Mind

Thought as Symbolic Action

Thought as Interpretation and Perspective

Social Psychology and Social Critique

V. Conclusion: Reframing Social Theory

Theoretical Connections

A Persistent Theme

Dewey’s Contribution to Critical Sociology

Privileging the Social Analysis of Knowledge

Rethinking the Nature and Task of Sociology

Neo-Pragmatism

Pragmatism and the Democratic Ethos

Biography

Robert G. Dunn was Emeritus Professor of Sociology at California State University, where he taught for 32 years. He specialized in theory, cultural sociology, social inequality, and the sociology of identity. Most of his research was in the areas of mass culture, critical theory, and postmodernity.

'In a compact, lucid, highly readable work, Robert Dunn provides incisive analysis of core sociological contributions of Dewey and Mead's pragmatism and of its continued relevance for critical social theory, social psychology, and democratic theory. Moreover, Dunn makes penetrating connections between their thought and classical theories of social thought, neo-pragmatism, and the related corpus of Kenneth Burke. The work's unique coverage stirs critical reflection about our practices.'

Robert J. Antonio, Chancellor's Club Teaching Professor, University of Kansas

 

'In this original, well-written and rigorous work, Robert Dunn reconsiders the sociology of knowledge from the perspective of American pragmatism.  Drawing on a wide variety of theorists the author brings into conversation and shows connections among an eclectic and important group of authors, including Mead, Burke, Dewey, Mannheim, and Durkheim. Dunn demonstrates that the pragmatist emphasis on ordinary meanings and democratic experimentation can inform a new understanding of how we think, not just what we think.   Dunn makes a persuasive case that academic theorizing in Sociology has become too fragmented and detached from the concerns of everyday life, and that his reassessment of pragmatism and the sociology of knowledge can contribute to a sociological theory attuned to a democratic ethos that can help revivify our public life.'

Kenneth H. Tucker, Jr., Helen P. Bibbero Professor of Sociology, Mount Holyoke College