GEORGE E. McCARTHY Rediscovering Science and Ethics in Nineteenth-Century Social Theory Dreams in Exile This page intentionally left blank. DREAMS IN EXILE This page intentionally left blank. DREAMS IN EXILE Rediscovering Science and Ethics in Nineteenth-Century Social Theory GEORGE E. MCCARTHY State University of New York Press Published by S U N Y P, A © 2009 State University of New York All rights reserved Printed in the United States of America No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission. No part of this book may be stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means including electronic, electrostatic, magnetic tape, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise without the prior permission in writing of the publisher. For information, contact State University of New York Press, Albany, NY www.sunypress.edu Production, Laurie Searl Marketing, Anne M. Valentine Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data McCarthy, George E. Dreams in exile : rediscovering science and ethics in nineteenth-century social theory / George E. McCarthy. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-1-4384-2587-0 (hardcover : alk. paper) 1. Sociology—History. 2. Sociology—Philosophy. I. Title. HM435.M334 2009 301.01—dc22 2008050197 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 For my son and daughter Devin and Alexa Now that they have wings, let them lead in spirit and heart, justice and compassion vi CONTENTS This page intentionally left blank. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS vii CONTENTS Acknowledgments ix INTRODUCTION 1 Conversing with Traditions: Ancients and Moderns in Nineteenth-Century Practical Science CHAPTER ONE 19 Aristotle on the Constitution of Social Justice and Classical Democracy Happiness as Virtue, Nobility, and Reason Defending Moral Economy (Oikonomike) Against Political Economy (Chrematistike) Ancient Dreams of Reciprocal Grace and Communal Justice Friendship of Brothers and Commonwealth of Citizens Practical Wisdom as Deliberation and Discourse Classical Democracy in Herodotus, Pericles, and Thucydides Constitution and Law in the Ideal Polity Collective Judgments and Discursive Rationality in Classical Democracy CHAPTER TWO 79 Aristotle and Classical Social Theory: Social Justice and Moral Economy in Marx, Weber, and Durkheim Human Need, Emancipation, and Communal Democracy in Marx Understanding, Historical Hermeneutics, and Practical Science in Weber Science of Morality, Functionalism, and Democratic Socialism in Durkheim viii CONTENTS CHAPTER THREE 139 Kant on the Critique of Reason and Science Hume’s Empiricism and Theory of Sensuous Impressions Skepticism and the Crisis of Modern Reason Kant’s Critical Theory of Knowledge and Judgment Transcendental Aesthetic and Theory of Representations Transcendental Analytic, Categories of the Understanding, and Theory of Objectivity Revolution in Subjectivity and Objectivity Imagination and the Synthetic Unity of Self-Consciousness Practical Reason, Moral Autonomy, and the Kingdom of Ends CHAPTER FOUR 195 Kant and Classical Social Theory: Epistemology, Logic, and Methods in Marx, Weber, and Durkheim Dialectical Science and the Critique of Political Economy in Marx Disenchantment of Reason and Demysti cation of Objectivity in Weber Moral Ideals and Social Theory of Representations in Durkheim CONCLUSION 255 Dreams of Classical Reason: Historical Science Between Existentialism and Antiquity Notes 267 Index 361 [...]... development of the theories, methods, and ideals of nineteenth-century European social theorists, including his ethical and political writings on social justice, critique of political economy and unnatural market activities, theory of knowledge and science (episteme, phronesis, and techne), analysis of the virtuous life and political happiness (eudaimonia), and investigation into the social constitution of. .. hermeneutics of subjective and objective meaning, and sociology of understanding (verstehende Soziologie) Practical reason is infused throughout the methodology of Weber’s hermeneutical science: understanding of culture and action, dialectic of logical inconsistencies and structural contradictions, judgment of ideals and consequences, and critique of social problems and public policy Using this approach,... example in self-interest and utilitarian happiness, or in rationalism, for example in natural rights and the state of nature, but lies in the a priori conceptions of practical reason itself A particular action must be seen as abstract and universal, that is, as capable of serving as a natural law transcending individual interests and intentions Just as in Kant’s theory of knowledge and critique of pure... rejected by a Kantian theory of cognition and representations? What are the major differences within sociology between the tradition of scientific explanation of hypothetical and predictive laws and the tradition of interpretive understanding of meaningful intentions within social action? Are the methods of understanding and explanation compatible in the same social theory, and how do they affect one... demystification of objectivity and science in his theory of science (Wissenschaftslehre), Weber reintroduces practical reason and ethics into the areas of social science, social problems, and public policy In his historical writings on ancient Greece and Rome, INTRODUCTION 17 Weber also constructs an early economic and materialist functionalism which later evolves into an idealist functionalism of cultural and. .. to bring about an historical and cultural understanding as well as a structural 18 DREAMS IN EXILE and functional explanation of modernity combined with a theory of social justice and individual freedom Justice is to be found in economic production and exchange, personality development, and communal solidarity Science and ethics together provide a comprehensive analysis of the cultural values and social. .. cultural values and social institutions of capitalist production and distribution This represents a manifest unity of theory and practice in the early stages of the development of modern social theory The social and political thought of the nineteenth century portrays the collective dreams of classical reason along with its hopes of imagining a dancing star, that is, the hopes of imagining possibilities beyond... methodological implications of this redirection of attention offer new clues to the nature of nineteenth-century historical and cultural science The Greek turn represents both a moving beyond 6 DREAMS IN EXILE Enlightenment rationality and politics and the creation of an alternative science based on the theory of knowledge and moral economy of Aristotle and the critical and dialectical methods of German idealism.3... importance of individual reason, human dignity, and 14 DREAMS IN EXILE personal freedom This position, although it contains elements of modern liberalism and individualism, certainly breaks with traditional Enlightenment values expressed in utilitarian philosophy and classical economics Elements of this critical theory of moral knowledge will be accepted as the founding principles of nineteenth-century social. .. created in which theory is replaced 16 DREAMS IN EXILE by methodology, critique by a truncated empirical science, ethics by value neutrality, and historical analysis by quantitative and qualitative research The primacy of moral autonomy in Kantian philosophy is expressed by the primacy of self-determination and individual freedom in Marx, human dignity and professional integrity in Weber, and equality and . McCARTHY Rediscovering Science and Ethics in Nineteenth-Century Social Theory Dreams in Exile This page intentionally left blank. DREAMS IN EXILE This page intentionally left blank. DREAMS IN EXILE Rediscovering. EXILE Rediscovering Science and Ethics in Nineteenth-Century Social Theory GEORGE E. MCCARTHY State University of New York Press Published by S U N Y P, A © 2009 State University. Congress Cataloging -in- Publication Data McCarthy, George E. Dreams in exile : rediscovering science and ethics in nineteenth-century social theory / George E. McCarthy. p. cm. Includes bibliographical