The Return of Grand Theory in the Human Sciences

The essays discuss major figures such as Gadamer, Derrida, Foucault, Habermas, Althusser and Levi-Strauss, giving valuably lucid introductory studies of some difficult but unquestionably major thinkers of our time.

Quentin Skinner (Edited by)

9780521398336, Cambridge University Press

Paperback, published 13 September 1990

224 pages
21.7 x 13.8 x 2.3 cm, 0.26 kg

'… the volume provides an excellent introduction to some of the most important themes in contemporary social and political theory'. Contemporary Sociology

The past quarter of a century has seen dramatic developments in social and political thought. These essays offer an indispensable introduction to some of the most influential amongst them. Quentin Skinner's Introduction traces broad transformations such as the erosion of empiricist assumptions and the undermining of the positivist ideal of the unification of the sciences by the impact of foreign traditions on English-speaking social science. The essays themselves discuss major figures such as Gadamer, Derrida, Foucault, Habermas, Althusser and Levi-Strauss, giving valuably lucid introductory studies of some difficult but unquestionably major thinkers of our time. Professor Skinner has been awarded the Balzan Prize Life Time Achievement Award for Political Thought, History and Theory. Full details of this award can be found at http://www.balzan.it/News_eng.aspx?ID=2474

List of contributors
Preface
1. Introduction: The Return of Grand Theory Quentin Skinner
2. Hans-Georg Gadamer William Outhwaite
3. Jacques Derrida David Hoy
4. Michel Foucault Mark Philp
5. Thomas Kuhn Barry Barnes
6. John Rawls Alan Ryan
7. Jurgen Habermas Anthony Giddens
8. Louis Althusser Susan James
9. Claude Levi-Strauss James Boon
10. The Annales historians Stuart Clark
Bibliography
Index of names.

Subject Areas: History of ideas [JFCX]