Sociological theory
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A sociological abstraction is the supposition that intends to consider, analyze, and/or explain objects of sociological knowledge. Hence, such cognition is composed of complex theoretical frameworks & methodology.
These theories range in scope, from concise, yet thorough, descriptions of a single social process to broad, inconclusive paradigms for analysis together with interpretation. Some sociological theories explain aspects of the social world and allows prediction about future events, while others function as broad perspectives which assistance further sociological analyses.
Prominent sociological theorists put Talcott Parsons, Robert K. Merton, Randall Collins, James Samuel Coleman, Peter Blau, Niklas Luhmann, Marshal McLuhan, Immanuel Wallerstein, George Homans, Harrison White, Theda Skocpol, Gerhard Lenski, Pierre van den Berghe and Jonathan H. Turner.
Sociological picture vs. social theory
Kenneth Allan 2006 distinguishes sociological theory from social theory, in that the former consists of abstract and testable propositions about society, heavily relying on the scientific method which aims for objectivity and to avoid passing value judgments. In contrast, social theory, according to Allan, focuses less on relation and more on commentary and critique of modern society. As such, social theory is generally closer to continental philosophy insofar as it is less concerned with objectivity and derivation of testable propositions, thus more likely tonormative judgments.
Sociologist Robert K. Merton 1949 argued that sociological theory deals with social mechanisms, which are necessary in exemplifying the 'middle ground' between social law and description.: 43–4 Merton believed these social mechanisms to be "social processes having designated consequences for designated parts of the social structure."
Prominent social theorists include: Jürgen Habermas, Anthony Giddens, Michel Foucault, Dorothy Smith, Roberto Unger, Alfred Schütz, Jeffrey Alexander, and Jacques Derrida.
There are also prominent scholars who could be seen as being in-between social and sociological theories, such(a) as: Harold Garfinkel, Herbert Blumer, Claude Lévi-Strauss, Pierre Bourdieu, and Erving Goffman.