Overview
After several decades in which it became a prime target for critique, universalism remains one of the most important issues in social and political thought. Daniel Chernilo reassesses social theory's universalistic orientation and explains its origins in natural law theory, using an impressive array of classical and contemporary sources that include, among others, Habermas, Leo Strauss, Weber, Marx, Hegel, Rousseau and Hobbes. The Natural Law Foundations of Modern Social Theory challenges previous accounts of the rise of social theory, recovers a strong idea of humanity, and revisits conventional arguments on sociology's relationship to modernity, the enlightenment and natural law. It reconnects social theory to its scientific and philosophical roots, its descriptive and normative tasks and its historical and systematic planes. Chernilo's defense of universalism for contemporary social theory will surely engage students of sociology, political theory and moral philosophy alike.
Full Product Details
Author: Daniel Chernilo (Senior Lecturer in Sociology, Loughborough University)
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Imprint: Cambridge University Press
Dimensions:
Width: 15.20cm
, Height: 1.40cm
, Length: 22.90cm
Weight: 0.350kg
ISBN: 9781107462786
ISBN 10: 1107462789
Pages: 258
Publication Date: 30 October 2014
Audience:
College/higher education
,
Tertiary & Higher Education
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active
Availability: Manufactured on demand
We will order this item for you from a manufactured on demand supplier.
Reviews
'A striking defense of universalism in philosophy and social theory. Daniel Chernilo outlines a compelling narrative on the sublation of natural law by social theory. He demonstrates that natural law is not only overcome by modern social theory but that a hard core survived criticism, and came back with ever better justifications.' Hauke Brunkhorst, University of Flensburg 'This superb book is a major contribution to the history of social theory and to our understanding of natural law theory.' William Outhwaite, Newcastle University 'Against a background of postmodern thought with its emphasis on particularity and relativism, Daniel Chernilo offers a robust defence of the ongoing relevance of natural law and universalism for modern social theory that takes seriously the idea of a common humanity. A brilliant excursus into the continuities of social theory, the intellectual results of his investigation are important and compelling.' Bryan S. Turner, Presidential Professor of Sociology, City University of New York
Author Information
Daniel Chernilo (BA, University of Chile; PhD, University of Warwick) is Reader in Social and Political Thought at Loughborough University. He has written widely on nationalism, cosmopolitanism and the problem of universalism in classical and contemporary social thought. He is the author of A Social Theory of the Nation-State (2007) and, in Spanish, of Nacionalismo y Cosmopolitismo (2010) and La Pretensión Universalista de la Teoría Social (2011). He has given over fifty invited seminars and lectures in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, the Czech Republic, Germany, Singapore and the UK. He is also a member of the international advisory boards of the British Journal of Sociology, the European Journal of Social Theory and Revista de Sociología.
