ECON 1 Lecture Notes - Lecture 14: Homo Economicus, Montesquieu, Cultural Relativism
Document Summary
Two dimensions of modernization: historical reality and reflection. Legitimated by religious and metaphysical principles, inherited customs and imposed by indoctrination and force. Self-evident for us: we are aware of living in it, although a precise definition is not easy. Historically far from obvious: society" is a modern notion which came into being and was articulated in 18th-c social theory and in 19th-c sociology. Society" only conceivable as consequence of the collapse of the traditional social order and increasing individualization. The crumbling of traditional social structures and individualization. Existing social order no longer taken for granted: Social theory and sociology as modern ways of making sense of how people live together and interact. Term sociology" as a scientific discipline coined in the 1830s (comte) shaping of sociology as a scientific discipline (marx, durkheim, weber). The modern concept of society and self-understanding of human beings as social beings.
