Reason and Freedom in Sociological Thought

London: Allen and Unwin, 1985. Book. As New. Soft cover. 1st Edition. 8vo - over 7¾ - 9¾" tall. Unread. Clean, tight, bright, and unmarked. Perfect copy. All our books at the moment are reduced so the price you see reflects our 33% SALE! ***STRIKE UPDATE*** Due to Royal Mail strike action there are delays within their service so for customers within the UK I can send by courier. If you would prefer this option, just drop me a line and I'll get you a quote. If this is intended as a gift, please email first and I can gift wrap for no extra charge. If you would like special delivery but don't see an option for it, just email first and I'll obtain a quote. If you have any questions, require more information or if you would like more pictures, do not hesitate to get in touch. From cover "How has reason, believed since the Enlightenment to be the ally of freedom in the search for a better, more humanly satisfying world, been reduced to a technical rationality that has actually impoverished the bases of human freedom? What might be the options and obligations for sociologists who wish to restore reason to its proper status? Working within the tradition of C. Wright Mills and Jurgen Habermas, Frank Hearn sets out to answer these questions. He surveys the treatment of the relation between reason and freedom in both the classical tradition (especially the writings of Saint-Simon, Comte, Durkheim, Marx, Weber, and Freud) and an increasingly significant segment of social thought and criticism (and, for example, in the contrasting visions of Daniel Bell and Christopher Lasch.) He then analyses both the concrete social and historical forms of expression taken by what Mills calls "rationality without reason" and their impact on individual autonomy and the freedoms associated with democratic politics. Finally, he develops Mills"s and Habermas"s claims that the cultivation of democratic publics and a critical social theory committed to a vibrant public life are indispensable to the protection and revitalization of the values of reason and freedom and of the practices they entail.".