Sorokin as Lifelong Russian Intellectual: The Enactment of an Historically Rooted Sensibility

Nichols, Lawrence T.

doi:10.1007/s12108-012-9167-0

Cited by 16 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 29 publications

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“…Features close to each of these characteristics have been mentioned in the literature in connection with particular Russian sociologists (Krotov 2012), areas of studies (Efremenko and Evseeva 2012), historical periods (Zdravomyslova 2008) or Russian culture as a whole (Nichols 2012). The novelty of our approach lies in the fact that these three characteristics have not yet been comprehended as integrative attributes of Russian sociological tradition lasting from the second half of the XIXth until the XXIst century.…”

Section: The Russian Sociological Tradition: Key Featuresmentioning

confidence: 96%

“…When sociological knowledge becomes morally interpreted and publicly oriented it comes naturally that the problems of methodological accuracy are treated in a special way: from the point of reaching not the Bcognitive truthb ut rather the Btruth-justice^ (Walicki:102). Russian sociologists used to perceive their mission as understanding the most urgent social problems and helping to solve them (Batygin (1998), Radaev (2013 and Nichols (2012)). That is why in their empirical studies they tend to apply less demanding methodological standards (in comparison with western sociology) and often rely upon self-made research tools (Radaev 2013).…”

Section: Problem Orientationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…On the other hand, the literature shows a certain growth of interest in the history of Russian sociology in the XIXth and the first half of the XXth century (Nichols 2012;Krotov 2012). The famous Russian emigrant, Harvard professor and the president of American Sociological Association in the 1960s, Pitirim Sorokin is often in the focus of these discussions (Krotov 2012).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The famous Russian emigrant, Harvard professor and the president of American Sociological Association in the 1960s, Pitirim Sorokin is often in the focus of these discussions (Krotov 2012). For example, in the article by Nichols (2012) the lifelong connections between Russian intellectual traditions and Sorokin's sociological approach are profoundly investigated. Along with Sorokin, his predecessors (Lavrov, Mikhailovsky and others) are also given attention in the literature (Efremenko and Evseeva 2012).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The Russian Sociological Tradition from the XIXth Century Until the Present: Key Features and Possible Value for Current Discussions

Сергеевич

2015

Am Soc

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The aim of this article is to highlight key features of the Russian sociological tradition and to demonstrate its relevance for certain ongoing international debates. In the current literature the image of BRussian sociology^remains fragmentary and incomplete. Different stages in the history of Russian sociology are usually considered as mutually antagonistic. We challenge this view by arguing that the Russian sociological tradition can be seen as a continuing trajectory of social thought development, lasting from the XIXth century until present days and unified by a set of underlying historically determined common features: publicism (an orientation to non-academic audiences and a desire to promote changes in the real world); moral and ethical concern (a clear expression of value orientations; the particular importance of ethical and moral issues); problem orientation (a focus on urgent social concerns with Bproblem^dominating over Bmethod^in sociological research). We demonstrate the importance of these features for a better understanding of the perspectives and contributions of Russian sociologists to current international debates.

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Section: The Russian Sociological Tradition: Key Featuresmentioning

confidence: 96%

Section: Problem Orientationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The Russian Sociological Tradition from the XIXth Century Until the Present: Key Features and Possible Value for Current Discussions

Сергеевич

2015

Am Soc

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“…Thus, modern economics increasingly recognizes and observes that altruism often counteracts egoism and plays an important role in the economy beyond the family, as in various market settings (Bernhard et al 2006;Ostrom 2010;Phelps 2007;Rabin 1998;Samuelson 1993), just as sociology experiences the renewed growth of interest in altruism 10 in turn initiated since Sorokin (Nichols 2012) and Comte and Durkheim earlier.…”

Section: The Breakdown Of the Assumption Of Exclusive Economic Motivamentioning

confidence: 99%

Rational Choice Requiem: The Decline of an Economic Paradigm and its Implications for Sociology

Zafirovski

2014

Am Soc

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The paper proposes and shows that standard rational choice theory has experienced a certain degree of breakdown or crisis in much of contemporary economic science, especially social, institutional, and related economics. It identifies and considers several instances of standard rational choice theory's breakdown in modern economics. They are, first, the end or discredit of homo economicus, second, the rejection of the premise of exclusive economic motivation, including egoism, third, the refutation of the assumption of fixed 'natural' tastes and preferences, and fourth, the replacement of the conception of perfect rationality. Consequently, the paper suggests that much of contemporary economics tends to move toward a more complex and realistic post-rational and in part irrational choice theory. The paper also discusses the possible implications of this trend in contemporary economics for rational choice sociology. It concludes that the continuing expansion of rational choice theory to sociology and related social sciences may not be sustainable indefinitely if the trend continues toward its breakdown in parts of contemporary economics.

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Sorokin,PitirimA.(1889–1968)

Nichols

2017

The Blackwell Encyclopedia of Sociology

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A world‐class scholar of exceptional erudition, Pitirim A. Sorokin contributed much to the development of both academic and public sociology in Russia and in the United States. As a young man, Sorokin was deeply involved in politics, but he became disillusioned and devoted himself to scholarship, though always with an eye toward social issues. He held professorships at the University of Saint Petersburg, the University of Minnesota, and Harvard University. In 1937, Sorokin published his major work, Social and Cultural Dynamics , which introduced his mature approach, called integralism. Sorokin subsequently pioneered the sociological study and teaching of altruism. He also founded the Harvard Center for Research in Creative Altruism, helped organize the International Society for the Comparative Study of Civilizations, and served as president of the American Sociological Association. Since the late 1980s there has been an international resurgence of interest in Sorokin, most recently highlighted by the 2014 decision of the Komi Autonomous Republic to rename a university in his honor.

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Sorokin as Lifelong Russian Intellectual: The Enactment of an Historically Rooted Sensibility

Cited by 16 publications

References 29 publications

The Russian Sociological Tradition from the XIXth Century Until the Present: Key Features and Possible Value for Current Discussions

The Russian Sociological Tradition from the XIXth Century Until the Present: Key Features and Possible Value for Current Discussions

Rational Choice Requiem: The Decline of an Economic Paradigm and its Implications for Sociology

Sorokin,PitirimA.(1889–1968)

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