The Birth of Social Theory: Social Thought in the Enlightenment and Romanticism

By Nader Saiedi

Nader Saiedi's work considers the important sociological contributions made by minds of the Enlightenment and Romanticism. The author synthesizes and creates a dialogue between the rationalist and non-rationalist world views and investigates the ideas behind both perspectives; he includes literary values such as the changing meaning of the metaphor to represent theoretical revolution and reinterprets influences on modern social theory.
Contents: The Social Context of the Enlightenment; The Enlightenment and the Birth of Human Sciences; Epistemology, Theory of Action, and Political Philosophy of the Enlightenment; The Antinomies of the Enlightenment; The Meaning of the Term Romanticism; Types of Romanticism and Their Social Contexts; Epistemology of Freedom: Early Romanticism; The Epistemology of Tradition: Later Romanticism; Early Romantic Theory of Action: Freedom and Irony; Social Action as Play; Romantic Poetry as Transcendental; Action as Madness and Genius; The Normative Orientation of Action; Political Philosophy and the Problem of Order.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0819188727
• ISBN13: 9780819188724
• Release Date: November 1992
• Publisher: University Press of America
• Length: 178 Pages
• Weight: 0.45 lbs.