Originally published in 1983. This book concentrates on the impact of philosophy of science on sociology and other disciplines. It argues that the impact of the philosophy of science on sociology from the rise of the Vienna Circle until the mid-1980s resulted in a deep-reaching and, in the author's view, undesirable methodological reorientation in sociology.

The post-Communist societies of Eastern Europe are examples of a social formation of great theoretical interest with distinctive features of its own. They reveal that Soviet-imposed "real socialism" has produced more fundamental and enduring changes in the region than had generally been believed. This is most evident in the societies which have historically been the most western-oriented, and in which political and economic reforms are now most advanced: Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary. Their governments are trying to effect a transition to democracy and the free market in conditions which are not necessarily propitious. It is already clear that many of the immediate benefits which neo-liberals expcted to flow from dismantling the old system have not materialized; what the eventual outcome of the changes will be is open to question. For this reason it is better to speak of a transition from a known past to an unknown future than a transition to a guaranteed end-state. Among the central issues discussed in this text are the legacy of real socialism, the efficacy of neo-liberal economic reforms and the demand for social protection, and the status of "homo economicus"

Originally published in 1983. This book concentrates on the impact of philosophy of science on sociology and other disciplines. It argues that the impact of the philosophy of science on sociology from the rise of the Vienna Circle until the mid-1980s resulted in a deep-reaching and, in the author's view, undesirable methodological reorientation in sociology.