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In sociology, the term rationalization was coined by Max Weber, a German sociologist, jurist, and economist. [1] Rationalization (or rationalisation) is the replacement of traditions, values, and emotions as motivators for behavior in society with concepts based on rationality and reason. [2]
Pure sociology is a theoretical paradigm, developed by Donald Black, that explains variation in social life through social geometry, meaning through locations in social space. A recent extension of this idea is that fluctuations in social space—i.e., social time —are the cause of social conflict.
Social theories are analytical frameworks, or paradigms, that are used to study and interpret social phenomena. [1] A tool used by social scientists, social theories relate to historical debates over the validity and reliability of different methodologies (e.g. positivism and antipositivism), the primacy of either structure or agency, as well as the relationship between contingency and necessity.
Proponents of emotional choice theory criticize the rational choice paradigm by drawing on new findings from emotion research in psychology and neuroscience. They point out that rational choice theory is generally based on the assumption that decision-making is a conscious and reflective process based on thoughts and beliefs. It presumes that ...
The contemporary discipline of sociology is theoretically multi-paradigmatic [74] in line with the contentions of classical social theory. Randall Collins' well-cited survey of sociological theory [75] retroactively labels various theorists as belonging to four theoretical traditions: Functionalism, Conflict, Symbolic Interactionism, and ...
For example, individuals in communist societies can still engage in rational utility maximizing behavior by building relationships with bureaucrats who control distribution, or by using small plots of land in their garden to supplement official food rations. Cook observed that there are significant conceptual problems with substantivists ...
II:76, 652 His prime example of instrumental action was the same as Weber's: widespread use of utilitarian means to satisfy individual ends. [6]: 51–5, 698 His prime example of value-rational action was institutionalised rituals found in all societies: culturally prescribed but eternally legitimate ends. [6]: 467, 675–9, 717 [7]
The Oxford English Dictionary defines a paradigm as "a pattern or model, an exemplar; a typical instance of something, an example". [11] The historian of science Thomas Kuhn gave the word its contemporary meaning when he adopted the word to refer to the set of concepts and practices that define a scientific discipline at any particular period of time.