Some reflections on the 'crisis' in sociology

Samenvatting

The current, wide-spread acceptance within the sociological community of the multiplicity of exclusive paradigms as a natural state of sociology is a strong indication of the potential crisis of sociology. This view of sociology has added a new dimension to discussions about sociological theory, with focus on the critical approach of the structural-functional model often combined with strong behavioristic premises of sociological research into 'positivistic' sociology. Criticisms of the structural-functional model give rise to the construction of countermodels which continue to generate controversies. A closer examination of these developments shows that the various paradigmatic models, or countermodels, evince a relatively high level of mutual analytical openings. This is particularly true concerning the extent to which societies are seen as systems & the nature of their systemic qualities. These mutual openings were closely connected with the growing convergence & potentially constructive mutual impingement of the different approaches in contemporary sociology found on several levels. It is in the very points of convergence that the fruitful implications of the analytical differences & problems of sociological analysis can be most fully discerned. E. Preston.