Sociological Studies

by Smith,Leslie

• ISBN13: 9780415107808
• ISBN10: 0415107806
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 1995-03-13
• Publisher: Routledge

Summary

How does a rational mind attain truth? This is the central question addressed by Piaget inSociological Studies.It examines the social basis of the formation of knowledge and concerns the developmental mechanism which makes possible both the acquisition of available knowledge and the creation of novel knowledge. Social orthodoxy, the rigid conformity of closed societies, ideological fervour and the power of tradition are familiar social phenomena. But none provide a guarantee of truth. The studies included here examine the extent to which psycho-social experience contributes to the development of rationality. Piaget's focus concerns how the developing mind comes to understand that some available beliefs are true rather than false, and how one generation comes to replace false values by true values. However his account is concerned more with the acquisition, construction and integration of rational norms than with the initial origins of knowledge. In this first Englishtranslation ofSociological Studies,an international team of Piaget scholars has ensured that this important text is available for wider analysis. With an introduction by Leslie Smith,Sociological Studieshighlights the continuing relevance of Piaget's work.

Table of Contents

Notes on the source publication
Notes on the translators
Acknowledgements
Introduction to the translation
Introduction to Piaget's Sociological studies	p. 1
Preface	p. 23
Explanation in sociology	p. 30
Essay on the theory of qualitative values in static ('synchronic') sociology	p. 97
Logical operations and social life	p. 134
The relationship between morality and law	p. 158
Genetic logic and sociology	p. 184
Individuality in history: the individual and the education of reason	p. 215
The development in the child of the idea of homeland and of foreign relationships	p. 248
Egocentric thought and sociocentric thought	p. 276
Problems of the social psychology of childhood	p. 287
Select bibliography	p. 319
Name index	p. 325
Subject index	p. 329
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