Reintegrating Social Theory: Reflecting Upon Human Society and the Discipline of Sociology

When dealing with the key concepts of sociology the coherence between this discipline and the other academic disciplines automatically emerges. In order to transcend the shortcomings of one-sided sociological theories it is necessary to hold on to the worthwhile contributions made by each of them. This goal requires an analysis of basic concepts such as social order, social stratification, social constancy and dynamics, social differentiation and integration, social sensitivity, solidarity and consciousness, social consensus and conflict, social power and control, and social symbolism, meaning and interpretation. This work therefore aims at a reintegration of social theory by including a discussion of sociological trends of thought that have been prominent during the past two centuries. It turned out that the opposition between atomistic (individualistic) and holistic (universalistic) theories practically cuts through all sociological schools of thought.