Durkheim and Pragmatism: An Old Twist on a Contemporary Debate

Durkheim's lectures on pragmatism, given in 1913–14, constitute both a significant critique of pragmatism and a clarification of Durkheim's own position. Unfortunately, these lectures have received little attention, most of it critical. When they have been taken seriously, the analysis ten...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Sociological theory 1997-03, Vol.15 (1), p.5-29
Main Author: Rawls, Anne Warfield
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Durkheim's theory
Durkheim, Emile
Durkheim, Emile (1858-1917)
Emile Durkheim
Epistemology
History and organization of sociology
History, theory and methodology
Idealism
Individualism
Knowledge
Lectures
Postmodernism
Pragmatism
Public speaking
Rationalism
Reality
Rituals
Social epistemology
Sociological theories
Sociological Theory
Sociology
Symbolism
Truth
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Summary:Durkheim's lectures on pragmatism, given in 1913–14, constitute both a significant critique of pragmatism and a clarification of Durkheim's own position. Unfortunately, these lectures have received little attention, most of it critical. When they have been taken seriously, the analysis tends to focus on their historical context and not on the details of Durkheim's actual argument. This is partly because the tendency to interpret Durkheim's theory of knowledge in idealist terms makes a nonsense of his criticisms of pragmatism. It is also due to a lack of serious appraisal of the lectures as a series of arguments in their own right.
ISSN:0735-2751
1467-9558
DOI:10.1111/0735-2751.00021