Sociology and Value
S. Steinert (TU Delft - Ethics & Philosophy of Technology)
More Info
expand_more
Other than for strictly personal use, it is not permitted to download, forward or distribute the text or part of it, without the consent of the author(s) and/or copyright holder(s), unless the work is under an open content license such as Creative Commons.
Abstract
This chapter traces the development of value theory in sociology and opens with Weber’s influential ideas about value rationality and value spheres. The chapter then outlines Parsons’ idea that values are abstract goals that play a crucial role in explaining social action. Like psychologists, sociologists acknowledge values as essential aspects of the self and have conceptualized the relationship between individual and social value systems. Sociologists are interested in the relationship between the social and the individual, and some suggest that changes in the value systems of individuals are linked to cultural, social, and economic changes. In a section on value change, the chapter focuses on the influential modernization theory (Inglehart).