Theory Of Action Routledge Revivals

Modern sociology owes its existence and the progress it has made to the integration of differing kinds of orientations. In this work, first published 1987, Professor Richard Münch sets out to reformulate the theory of action, a notion central to sociology and one to which all schools of thought within sociology have contributed. He gives an exposition of the voluntaristic theory of action as found in Talcott Parson's work, reconstructing and extending Parson's theory from the perspective of the present-day level of development. In this way he both integrates opposing orientations to action theory and presents the voluntaristic theory of action in a readable and teachable from.

First published in 1926, this study addresses the theory of morality using four overarching approaches: analytical, psychological, theoretical, and finally, philosophical. Within these methodologies, chapters explore such areas as the character of moral enquiry, the knowledge of good and evil, freedom and self-determination and moral philosophy. This is an interesting reissue, which will be of particular value to students researching the philosophy of ethics and morality.

First published in 1973, this is a reissue of John Urry's important and influential study of the theory of revolution. Part 1 offers a detailed discussion of the concept of the reference group, tracing its development from the symbolic interactionist tradition and then showing how it came to be used in ways which emasculated some of the suppositions of that tradition. Part 2 sets out a theory of revolutionary dissent, in which Dr Urry emphasizes the interconnection between analyses on the level of the social structure and the social actor. The final section demonstrates the value of this theory by using it to account for the varying patterns of action and revolutionary thought and action in the Dutch East Indies in the first half of this century.

Today, rapid change is a constant challenge in the workplace, and thousands of individuals need to be involved in continuous learning. Traditional training approaches, however, do not emphasise informal and incidental learning. Furthermore, since informal learning us seldom designed, learning outside of a structured experience may lead to mistaken or dysfunctional learning. Strategies for improving informal learning are urgently needed. This book, first published in 1990, responds to this need by taking a challenging look at many assumptions about workplace learning outside of the classroom and by proposing methods to improve it. They develop a theory of informal and incidental workplace learning based on current developments in training and human resource development which they illustrate with readable and illuminating case studies which tell vivid stories of adult education and human resource development practice. Informal and Incidental Learning in the Workplace is essential reading for researchers and practitioners of human resource development, and also for students of education and adult learning.

First published in 1921, this book explores the function of Reason in practical life. It considers whether there is a Rational, demonstrable, standard of values to which the actions of man and the institutions of society may be referred for judgement, and to what authority and power does it possess to influence the actual conduct of men and society.

This book, written by a philosopher interested in the problems of social science and scientific method, and a sociologist interested in the philosophy of science, presents a novel conception of how we should think about and carry out the scientific study of social life. This book combines an evaluation of different conceptions of the nature of science with an examination of important sociological theorists and frameworks. This second edition of the work was originally published in 1982.

Essays on Freedom of Action, first published in 1973, brings together original papers by contemporary British and American philosophers on questions which have long concerned philosophers and others: the question of whether persons are wholly a part of the natural world and their actions the necessary effects of causal processes, and the question of whether our actions are free, and such that we can be held responsible for them, even if they are the necessary effects of casual processes. This volume will be of interest not only to those who are primarily concerned with philosophy but also to students in those many other disciplines in which freedom and determinism arise as problems.

First published in 1973, this book is concerned with the question of whether Sociology is, or ought to be, a theoretical science. Keith Dixon argues that the pretence to the theoretical is a hindrance to the development of the field of Sociology, which devalues significant empirical work by giving status to research findings only in so far as they relate to often arbitrary theoretical concerns. Dixon addresses the historical dimension in the explanation of human nature and rational action. This reissue will be of particular value to students and academics with an interest in the empirical and theoretical methodology applied to Sociological research.