Values have always been a central topic in both philosophy and the social sciences. Statements about what is good or bad, fair or unfair, legitimate or illegitimate, express clear beliefs about human existence. The fact that values differ from culture to culture and century to century opens many questions. In The Origin of Values, Raymond Boudon offers empirical, data-based analysis of existing theories about values, while developing his own perspective as to why people accept or reject value statements. Boudon classifies the main theories of value, including those based on firm belief, social or biological factors, and rational or utilitarian attitudes. He discusses the popular and widely influential Rational Choice Model and critiques the postmodernist approach. Boudon investigates why relativism has become so powerful and contrasts it with the naturalism represented by the work of James Q. Wilson on moral sensibility. He follows with a constructive attempt to develop a new theory, beginning with Weber's idea of non-instrumental rationality as the basis for a more complex idea of rationality. Applying Boudon's own and existing theories of value to political issues and social ideas the end of apartheid, the death penalty, multiculturalism, communitarianismThe Origin of Values is a significant work. Boudon fulfills a major task of social science: explanation of collective belief. His book will be of interest to sociologists, philosophers, psychologists, and political scientists.

Values have always been a central topic in both philosophy and the social sciences. Statements about what is good or bad, fair or unfair, legitimate or illegitimate, express clear beliefs about human existence. The fact that values differ from culture to culture and century to century opens many questions. In The Origin of Values, Raymond Boudon offers empirical, data-based analysis of existing theories about values, while developing his own perspective as to why people accept or reject value statements. Boudon classifies the main theories of value, including those based on firm belief, social or biological factors, and rational or utilitarian attitudes. He discusses the popular and widely influential Rational Choice Model and critiques the postmodernist approach. Boudon investigates why relativism has become so powerful and contrasts it with the naturalism represented by the work of James Q. Wilson on moral sensibility. He follows with a constructive attempt to develop a new theory, beginning with Weber's idea of non-instrumental rationality as the basis for a more complex idea of rationality. Applying Boudon's own and existing theories of value to political issues and social ideas-the end of apartheid, the death penalty, multiculturalism, communitarianism-The Origin of Values is a significant work. Boudon fulfills a major task of social science: explanation of collective belief. His book will be of interest to sociologists, philosophers, psychologists, and political scientists.

Showing little respect for intellectual fads and fashions, the authors submit key sociological concepts, theories and figures to a searching examination. In doing so they reaffirm that a non-Marxist critique is still possible. This book should be of interest to students and teachers of sociology.

Unlike most other sociology or social science dictionaries, in this translation of the Critical Dictionary of Sociology, taken from the second French edition of the Dictionary and edited by the English sociologist Peter Hamilton, the critical value of this distinctive work is at last made available for a wider audience. Each entry grapples directly with an issue, whether theoretical, epistemological, philosophical, political or empirical, and provides a strong statement of what the authors think about it. The discussions are considered but argumentative. By reaffirming that a non-marxist style of critique is still possible, Boudon and Bourricaud have presented a distinctive approach to the key issues which confront the societies of the Twentieth and Twenty-First centuries. For some this work will be a textbook, for others an indispensable sourcebook of sociological concepts, and for most a way of opening our eyes to new dimensions in our understanding of the great ideas and theories of sociology.

Without Paul F. Lazarsfeld the social sciences would not be what they are today. In his ground-breaking work on unemployment, voting, consumer behavior, and social influence, among other subjects, his methodological emphasis on vigorously controlled scientific language and structures transformed social research worldwide.
Lazarsfeld's systematic criticism of observational, conceptual, and inferential procedures in sociology led to the the formation of universally applied observational and analytical techniques, such as the panel design of observation and contextual and multivariate analysis. His methodology for empirical social research had a profound effect on all the social sciences.
The eighteen essays in "On Social Research and Its Language" illustrate the diversity of Lazarsfeld's substantive, methodological, and organizational interests. Spanning the years 1933 to 1972, they encompass his own works of social research, as well as writings on methodology and the history and sociology of social research. Articles on methodology--observing, classifying and building typologies, analyzing the relations between variables, qualitative analysis, and macrosociology--form the bulk of the book. In addition, Raymond Boudon provides a revealing biography of Lazarsfeld and his influence on sociology.
These classic writings by a formative figure of modern social science will be an indispensable reference for scholars across the historical and social science disciplines.

Die Autoren dieses sozialwissenschaftlichen Standardwerkes behandeln in mehr als siebzig Grundsatzartikeln zu Schlusselbegriffen, Theorien und historisch wesentlichen Autoren die zentralen Probleme der Soziologie. Insgesamt bietet der Band eine ebenso umfassende wie kritische Einfuhrung in Entwicklung und Stand der Soziologie und ihrer einzelnen Bereiche."

This work, by one of Europe's foremost social theorists, presents a critical history of the concept of ideology. The author's discussion ranges from the early conceptions of ideology to its current usage in the works of Barthes, Foucault, Habermas and others. Boudon develops a distinctive and original approach to the analysis of ideology. Drawing on a series of case studies, he seeks to explain how and why social actors adhere so readily to false or dubious ideas. In opposition to those views which associate ideology with irrationalism, Boudon develops a rationalist theory which helps to explain why certain ideas are believed by individuals and are thereby effective in the social world. Rigorously argued and clearly written, this work is a major restatement of Boudon's theoretical views and a timely intervention in current debates. It will be of particular interest to students of sociology, politics and philosophy.

This work, by one of Europe's foremost social theorists, presents a critical history of the concept of ideology. The author's discussion ranges from the early conceptions of ideology to its current usage in the works of Barthes, Foucault, Habermas and others.

Boudon develops a distinctive and original approach to the analysis of ideology. Drawing on a series of case studies, he seeks to explain how and why social actors adhere so readily to false or dubious ideas. In opposition to those views which associate ideology with irrationalism, Boudon develops a rationalist theory which helps to explain why certain ideas are believed by individuals and are thereby effective in the social world.

Rigorously argued and clearly written, this work is a major restatement of Boudon's theoretical views and a timely intervention in current debates. It will be of particular interest to students of sociology, politics and philosophy.