Overview
- Helps the reader to grasp the essential elements of a complex and nuanced debate
- Bridges the realms of philosophy and social theory and shows their connections
- Is the first work to deal with the sociological assumptions operative in Taylor’s meta-narrative of secularization in the West
- Shows how Taylor’s narrative is a case study of his hermeneutic view of the social sciences
Part of the book series: Sophia Studies in Cross-cultural Philosophy of Traditions and Cultures (SCPT, volume 20)
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Table of contents (8 chapters)
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Front Matter
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Sources
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Front Matter
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Taylorean Social Theory
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Front Matter
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Back Matter
Keywords
About this book
This book examines “Taylorean social theory,” its sources, main characteristics and impact. Charles Taylor’s meta-narrative of secularization in the West, prominently contained in his major work A Secular Age (2007), has brought new insight on the social and cultural factors that intervened in such process, the role of human agency, and particularly on the contemporary conditions of belief in North America and Europe. This study discusses what Taylor’s approach has brought to the scholarly debate on Western secularization, which has been carried on mostly in sociological terms. McKenzie interprets Taylor’s views in a way that offers an original social theory. Such interpretation is possible with the help of sociologist Margaret Archer’s “morphogenetic theory” and by making the most of Taylor’s particular understanding of the method of the social sciences and of his philosophical views on human beings, knowledge and modernity. After exploring the philosophical and sociological sources informing Taylorean social theory and proposing its basic concepts and hermeneutic guidelines, the author compares it with two widespread theories of secularization: the now waning “orthodox” account and that proposed by Rational Choice Theory scholars, particularly prevalent in the United States. In doing so, the book shows in which ways Taylorean social theory supersedes them, what new issues it brings into the scholarly discussion, and what difficulties might limit its future development.
Authors and Affiliations
About the author
Bibliographic Information
Book Title: Interpreting Charles Taylor’s Social Theory on Religion and Secularization
Book Subtitle: A Comparative Study
Authors: Germán McKenzie
Series Title: Sophia Studies in Cross-cultural Philosophy of Traditions and Cultures
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-47700-8
Publisher: Springer Cham
eBook Packages: Religion and Philosophy, Philosophy and Religion (R0)
Copyright Information: Springer International Publishing AG 2017
Hardcover ISBN: 978-3-319-47698-8Published: 02 December 2016
Softcover ISBN: 978-3-319-83801-4Published: 05 July 2018
eBook ISBN: 978-3-319-47700-8Published: 22 November 2016
Series ISSN: 2211-1107
Series E-ISSN: 2211-1115
Edition Number: 1
Number of Pages: XV, 207
Number of Illustrations: 12 illustrations in colour
Topics: Philosophy of the Social Sciences, Religious Studies, general, Sociology of Culture, Sociological Theory