Classical Horizons

by McCarthy, George E.

• ISBN13: 9780791455630
• ISBN10: 0791455637
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2002-11-01
• Publisher: State Univ of New York Pr

Summary

This work relocates the origins of nineteenth-century social theory in classical Greece and focuses on three figures: Karl Marx, Max Weber, and Emile Durkheim, all of whom wrote dissertations on the culture and structure of ancient society. Greek philosophy, art, and politics inspired their ideas, stirred their imaginations, and defined their intellectual horizons. McCarthy rediscovers the forgotten dreams and classical horizons of these European social theorists and uncovers the close connections between sociology and philosophy, offering new insights into the methods, theories, and approaches of modern social science.

Author Biography

George E. McCarthy is the National Endowment for the Humanities Distinguished Teaching Professor of Sociology at Kenyon College.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	ix
Introduction: Critique of the Enlightenment and Return to Classical Antiquity	1	(14)
Athenian Democracy and the Critique of Political Economy	15	(49)
Karl Marx
Science and Nature in Democritus and Epicurus	17	(5)
Nature, Praxis, and Social Objectivity	22	(3)
Classical Needs and Neoclassical Aesthetics	25	(9)
Ancient and Modern Democracy	34	(8)
Greek Social Justice and Political Economy in Capital	42	(5)
Rationalization of Production and the Logic of Capital	47	(4)
Greek Physics and Marx's Dialectical Science	51	(8)
Classical Antiquity and the Ancient Mode of Production	59	(5)
Greek Tragedy and the Rationalization of Society	64	(47)
Max Weber
Classical Antiquity and Ancient Capitalism	67	(5)
Capitalism and Democracy in the Greek Polis	72	(3)
Decline of the Roman Empire and the Rise of Modern Capitalism	75	(4)
Nietzsche and the Origins of Greek Tragedy	79	(6)
Existential Nihilism and the Perspectivism of Science	85	(3)
History of Western Science from Plato to the Present	88	(4)
Prophets of Positivism and the Politics of Science	92	(7)
Rationalization and the Eclipse of Reason	99	(4)
Classical Humanism and Historical Economics	103	(8)
Greek Polis and the Solidarity of the Conscience Collective	111	(46)
Emile Durkheim
Aristotle, Montesquieu, and the Foundations of Sociology	113	(5)
Origins of Society in Rousseau and Aristotle	118	(3)
Epistemology and Existentialism in Kant and Schopenhauer	121	(3)
Platonic Rationalism and the Sophistry of Pragmatism	124	(7)
Collective Representations as Social Epistemology	131	(7)
Hellenic Solidarity and Modern Anomie	138	(9)
Classical Pedagogy and Modern Politics	147	(3)
Classical Justice Informing Social Democracy	150	(7)
Awakening Classical Dreams: Synthesis of Ancient Justice and Modern Social Science	157	(12)
Notes	169	(24)
Index	193