1st Edition
Pragmatism and the Social Analysis of Knowledge The Social Theory of Thought
Preface
Quotes
Acknowledgements
Introduction
1 The Sociology of Knowledge: A Hybrid Field
The Historical Background
An Ambiguous Enterprise
The Theoretical Orientation of Sociology
Three Fields: Sociology of Knowledge, Pragmatism, and Social Psychology
Constructing a Social Theory of Thought
Reorientation
2 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
3 Pragmatism as a Social Theory of Knowledge: John Dewey
Why Pragmatism?
European Bridges: Scheler, Mannheim, and Durkheim
Dewey’s Social Pragmatism
Dewey on the Social Nature of Inquiry
Dewey’s Historicism and Evolutionism
Dewey’s Anti-Dualism
Dewey’s Pragmatism and Social Theory
Values in Social Science
Evaluative Principles in Dewey
4 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
5 Conclusion: Reframing Social Theory
Theoretical Connections
A Persistent Theme
Dewey’s Contribution to a Critical Sociology
Privileging the Social Analysis of Knowledge
Rethinking the Nature and Task of Sociology
Neo-pragmatism
Pragmatism and the Democratic Ethos
Bibliography
Index
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. Robert G. Dunn passed away in March 2026, shortly before the publication of this book.
'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
