Sociology as a Strong Science: Leon Petrazhitsky’s Unfinished Project

Occupation: Professor of Department of Theory and History of State and Law
Affiliation: St. Petersburg State University
Address: Russian Federation, St. Petersburg

Journal name

Sotsiologicheskie issledovaniya

Edition

Issue 12

Pages

115-125

Abstract

Author reviews the Warsaw period works by Leon Petrażycki and his logical and methodological studies in order to reconstruct his project of sociology based on them. In his intention, sociology should have become the common foundation of the whole set of social sciences (theory of law and morality, political economy, etc.). However, according to Petrażycki, sociology does not yet exist as a “strict science”, and he considers contemporary sociological concepts as exhibits of the “Scientific Pathology Museum”. The author denies traditional identification between Petrażycki’s sociological project and the empirical tradition in sociology. Petrażycki constructs sociology a theoretical science and uses following methodological tools: 1) the principle of adequacy of the theory, 2) the theorem on n+1 theories; 3) the doctrine of positions (atomic elements of judgments) as the basis for the classifying sciences. In Petrażycki’s interpretation, the subject of sociology is evolutionary processes of behavior motivation. Sociology of Petrażycki, known in the summaries of his disciples, does not fully correspond to his own logical and methodological criteria: it is reduced to the theory of genesis and evolution of ethical (moral and legal) motivation. At the same time, he considers sociology of law to be a superfluous science. Probably, this incompleteness of the sociology project is a reason why Petrażycki has refused to publish the finished manuscript on sociology. Finally, author discusses how Pitirim Sorokin has used some logical and methodological ideas of Petrażycki to develop his own system of sociology.

Keywords

subject of sociology, methodological foundations of sociology, theoretical sociology, ontology of social reality, sociological realism, sociological nominalism, social evolution, L. Petrażycki

Received

29.11.2019

Publication date

11.12.2019

Number of characters

31795

Cite

GOST	Timoshina E. Sociology as a «Strong Science»: Leon Petrazhitsky’s Unfinished Project // Sotsiologicheskie issledovaniya – 2019. – Issue 12 C. 115-125 [Electronic resource]. URL: http://ras.jes.su/socis/s013216250007745-2-1-en (circulation date: 25.04.2024). DOI: 10.31857/S013216250007745-2
MLA	Timoshina, Elena V. "Sociology as a «Strong Science»: Leon Petrazhitsky’s Unfinished Project." Sotsiologicheskie issledovaniya 12 (2019):115-125. DOI: 10.31857/S013216250007745-2
APA	Timoshina E. (2019). Sociology as a «Strong Science»: Leon Petrazhitsky’s Unfinished Project. Sotsiologicheskie issledovaniya (12), pp.115-125 DOI: 10.31857/S013216250007745-2

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