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Summary

The Philosophy of Sociology refers to the use of philosophical thought to critique or clarify the discipline of sociology in either its academic form or intellectual content. With regards to the academic form of sociology, there is philosophical questioning of (1) the coherence of a discipline bound by a theory of society and its proper delineation from other historically related fields (e.g. economics, anthropology); (2) applications of the demarcation problem in philosophy of science — whether sociology yields scientific knowledge, or whether it should be oriented towards doing so. With regards to the intellectual content of sociology, various lines of philosophical thought (e.g. epistemological, ontological, ethical) are used in the construction, interpretation, and modification of conceptual, theoretical, and methodological frameworks central to sociology. Predominant issues of concern among philosophers who assess the content of sociology include, thematically, notions of modernity, culture, collective-intentionality, social structures and practices, and forms of social reasoning. The philosophical study of sociology is reciprocated by and closely linked with the sociological study of a central philosophical concept, knowledge. Here sociologists address the impact of social relations, processes, and institutions on knowledge, both in the generic sense ('Sociology of Knowledge') and in the scientific sense ('Sociology of Science'). Understanding social influences on knowledge in either of these senses may generally enrich understanding of knowledge-claims or more specifically inform solutions to problems of delineation and demarcation.

Key works Frisby & Sayer 1986 reviews the dependence of sociology's development on theories of society while Urry 2000 argues for the discipline to move beyond such dependence. Gieryn 1983 argues that the boundaries of scientific status for disciplines (incl. sociology) are fluid while Collins 1989 defends sociological knowledge as a candidate for science. Philosophical inquiry into core sociological concepts is ubiquitous; systematic works worth highlighting are Sewell Jr 2005 (pp. 152-174) on culture, Reich 2010 on intersubjectivity, and Turner et al 1990 on modernity and post-modernity. 
Introductions Turner's introduction to Turner & Risjord 2006 (pp. 3-69)  illustrates some main ways sociology has been implicated in philosophical discussion from the time of its founding. For introductory analysis of important concepts in sociology, I recommend relevant installments of the Routledge 'Key ideas in Sociology' series (e.g. Jenkins 2014 on social identity,  Field 2008 on social capital, or Jenks 2005 on culture).
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  1. Concrete Counterfactual Tests for Process Tracing: Defending an Interventionist Potential Outcomes Framework.Rosa W. Runhardt - 2022 - Sociological Methods and Research.
    This article uses the interventionist theory of causation, a counterfactual theory taken from philosophy of science, to strengthen causal analysis in process tracing research. Causal claims from process tracing are re-expressed in terms of so-called hypothetical interventions, and concrete evidential tests are proposed which are shown to corroborate process tracing claims. In particular, three steps are prescribed for an interventionist investigation, and each step in turn is shown to make the causal analysis more robust, amongst others by disambiguating causal claims (...)
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  2. The significance of sociology for ethics.Albion W. Small - 1902 - [n.p.]: Forgotten Books.
    Excerpt from The Significance of Sociology for Ethics We must borrow further psychological commonplaces in order to establish a point of departure for our sociological argument. A. The judgment of good and bad is involuntary. The standard of good and bad is derived. This is the extent of the basis in fact for the intuitional philosophy. The act of judging a thing or an act good or bad is beyond Our control. So far as we know, the genus homo sapiens (...)
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  3. Sociální filosofie.Ant Uhlíř - 1913 - V Praze: O. Janáček.
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  4. Sociology and ethics.Edward Cary Hayes - 1921 - London,: D. Appleton and Company.
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  5. Le conflit de la morale et de la sociologie.Simon Deploige - 1912 - Paris,: Nouvelle librairie nationale.
    Unlike some other reproductions of classic texts (1) We have not used OCR(Optical Character Recognition), as this leads to bad quality books with introduced typos. (2) In books where there are images such as portraits, maps, sketches etc We have endeavoured to keep the quality of these images, so they represent accurately the original artefact. Although occasionally there may be certain imperfections with these old texts, we feel they deserve to be made available for future generations to enjoy.
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  6. Les éléments sociologiques de la morale.Alfred Fouillée - 1928 - Paris,: F. Alcan.
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  7. Empirische soziologie.Otto Neurath - 1931 - Wien,: J. Springer.
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  8. Shakaishiteki shisō shi.Kiyoshi Miki (ed.) - 1949
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  9. Fenomenologia e sociologia.Enrico Castelli (ed.) - 1951 - Padova,: Editoria liviana.
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  10. La sociologie moderne et la crise morale.Martin G. Plattel - 1952 - Nijmegen,: Dekker & Van de Vegt.
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  11. Àgua Política.Mota Victor - manuscript
  12. Social philosophy.Ajit Kumar Sinha - 1962 - Calcutta: Library of Philosophy.
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  13. Sprache, Gesellschaft, Mystik.Ivo Höllhuber - 1963 - München,: E. Reinhardt.
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  14. Wijsgerig-sociologische verkenningen.Reinier Franciscus Beerling - 1964 - Zeist,: W. de Haan.
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  15. Filosofía de lo social.Enrique Mesta - 1965 - [Saltillo, México]: Escuela Superior de Comercio y Administración, Universidad de Coahuila.
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  16. Der Mensch in der Gesellschaft.Martin G. Plattel - 1966 - Köln: J.P. Bachem.
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  17. Rinri shakai kenkyū nōto.Kimiyoshi Okazaki - 1968
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  18. Ideologia e società.Carlo Mongardini - 1969 - Roma,: M. Bulzoni.
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  19. A sociologia e os grandes filósofos.Antonio Valença de Mello - 1969 - Rio de Janeiro,: Gráf. Guido.
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  20. Proto.Søren Blaabjerg - 1972 - København,: Attika.
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  21. Ke kritice buržoazních teorií společnosti.Jindřich Filipec (ed.) - 1974 - Praha: Svoboda.
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  22. Shakai no tetsugaku.Makoto Tokunaga - 1975
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  23. Gefährdung von Wirklichkeit: die soziale Konstruktion von Sicherheit und Unsicherheit von Realitäten.Heinz-Günter Vester - 1980 - Greven: Fischer.
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  24. Dialettica e società: Gurvitch e la dialettica di Proudhon e di Marx.Bernardo Razzotti - 1977 - Lanciano: Itinerari.
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  25. Hacia una eidética de lo social: fundamentación egológica.Machado Neto & Antônio Luiz - 1980 - Maracaibo, Venezuela: Universidad del Zulia, Facultad de Derecho, Instituto de Filosofía del Derecho.
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  26. Critical Realism: A Critical Evaluation.Tong Zhang - 2023 - Social Epistemology 37 (1):15-29.
    Critical realism, championed by its proponents as the most promising post-positivist social science paradigm, has gained significant influence in the last few decades. This paper provides a critical evaluation of the critical realism movement in the hope of facilitating more fruitful dialogues between its proponents and rivalling schools of sociologists. Two concerns are raised about contemporary critical realism. First, critical realism is not the only philosophical school against positivism and not necessarily the best. Second, critical realists exaggerate the importance of (...)
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  27. The Transparency of Disenchantment.Gregor Schiemann - 2020 - Chiasma: A Site for Thought 6 (1):149-174.
  28. Philosophie - Soziologie, Gesellschaft: Gesammelte Studien Zum Ideologieproblem.Hans-Joachim Lieber - 1965 - Berlin,: De Gruyter.
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  29. An introduction to social philosophy.John Stuart Mackenzie - 1895 - Glasgow,: J. Maclehose & Sons.
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  30. Logological Investigations.Barry Sandywell - 1995 - New York: Routledge.
    These ground breaking volumes, the first in a series of ten, explore the similarities and differences between the discourses of reflection and reflexivity. Examining the role of reflexivity he traces the journey from its early expression though classical and Greek philosophy, drama and poetry to modern and postmodern forms. These `logological investigations' introduce a method of analysis which traces the epochal movement of thought from a videological to a dialogical conception of the world. They are available as a set or (...)
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  31. Outlines of Social Philosophy.John Stuart Mackenzie - 1918 - London: Routledge.
    Social philosophy can be considered the study of what unifies mankind and the study of values and ideals and what their meaning and worth is to human existence. Originally published in 1918, Mackenzie’s study provides a basic outline of what he believes is the origin of social philosophy whilst placing a focus on social order; dividing his work into the foundations of social order, national order and world order. This title will be of interest to students of Philosophy, Sociology and (...)
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  32. Der Streit um die philosophischen Grundlagen der Gesellschaftstheorie.Ludwig Landgrebe - 1975 - Opladen: Westdeutscher Verlag.
    Im Titel der folgenden Erorterung ist von der Gesellschaftstheorie die Rede. Dieser Singular ist mit Bedacht gewahlt, obwohl es doch offensichtlich nicht die Gesellschaftstheorie gibt, sondern eine Vielzahl im Streit miteinan­ der liegender Theorien der Gesellschaft. Nun ist, wie bekannt, dieser Streit kein "bloB theoretischer"; er hat nicht nur politische Konsequenzen, sondern steht vielmehr mit politischer Praxis in einer unaufhebbaren Wechselbezie­ hung und wird damit zu einem Streit urn Wege und Ziele der Politik. Es kann Ferner als banal und bekannt (...)
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  33. La Société sans maître: essai sur la société de masse.Léo Scheer - 1978 - Paris: Éditions Galilée.
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  34. Die offene und die abstrakte Gesellschaft: Habermas u.d. Konzeption von Vergesellschaftung d. klass.-bürgerl. Rechts- u. Staatsphilosophie.Burkhard Tuschling - 1978 - Berlin: Argument-Verlag.
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  35. Soziologie des Sozialen.Harry Joseph Maria Hoefnagels - 1966 - Essen,: Driewer.
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  36. Sosiologi og filosofi.Eyvind Dalseth - 1972 - Oslo,: Universitetsforlaget.
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  37. Die Berechtigung sittlicher Werturteile in den Sozialwissenschaften.Günter Weigand - 1960 - Berlin,: Duncker Und Humblot.
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  38. Hē koinōnikē philosophia tōn archaiōn Hellēnōn.Kōnstantinos Tsatsos - 1970 - Vivliopoleion Tes Hestias I.D. Kollarou.
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  39. One’s a Crowd? On Greenwood’s Delimitation of the Social.Marc Champagne - 2013 - Philosophy of the Social Sciences 43 (4):519-530.
    In an effort to carve a distinct place for social facts without lapsing into a holistic ontology, John Greenwood has sought to define social phenomena solely in terms of the attitudes held by the actor in question. I argue that his proposal allows for the possibility of a “lone collectivity” that is unpalatable in its own right and incompatible with the claim that sociology is autonomous from psychology. As such, I conclude that the relevant beliefs need to be held by (...)
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  40. Final moral values in sociology.Theodore Mary Hemelt - 1929 - Washington, D.C.,: The Sulpician seminary press.
  41. Human understanding and its world.Keith Waldegrave Monsarrat - 1937 - London,: Hodder & Stoughton.
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  42. The conflict between ethics and sociology.Simon Deploige - 1938 - St. Louis, Mo. and London,: B. Herder book co.. Edited by Charles C. Miltner.
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  43. Human powers and their relations.Keith Waldegrave Monsarrat - 1938 - London,: Hodder & Stoughton.
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  44. Reason and unreason in society.Morris Ginsberg - 1947 - New York,: Longmans, Green.
  45. Ethics and the social sciences.Leo R. Ward (ed.) - 1959 - [Notre Dame, Ind.]: University of Notre Dame Press.
    Contributing Authors Are Francis G. Wilson, Kenneth E. Boulding, Herbert Johnson And Others.
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  46. Social philosophy.Martin G. Plattel - 1965 - Pittsburgh,: Duquesne University Press.
  47. Essays in sociology and social philosophy.Morris Ginsberg - 1956 - Harmondsworth,: Penguin Books.
    v. 1. On the diversity of morals.--v. 2. Reason and unreason in society.--v. 3. Evolution and progress.
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  48. Sociological theory: a book of readings.Lewis A. Coser - 1969 - [New York]: Macmillan. Edited by Bernard Rosenberg.
  49. Education Policy and Realist Social Theory: Primary Teachers, Child-Centred Philosophy and the New Managerialism.Robert Archer - 2002 - Routledge.
    In Europe, welfare state provision has been subjected to 'market forces'. Over the last two decades, the framework of economic competitiveness has become the defining aim of education, to be achieved by new managerialist techniques and mechanisms. This book thoughtfully and persuasively argues against this new vision of education. This in-depth major study will be of great interest to researchers in the sociology of education, education policy, social theory, organization and management studies, and also to professionals concerned about the deleterious (...)
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Philosophy of Sociology, Misc
  1. The Anthem Companion to David Ricardo. Edited by J. E. King. [REVIEW]Sergio Volodia Cremaschi - forthcoming - History of Political Economy:174-176.
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