Antoine-Augustin Cournot as a Sociologist

Leroux, Robert

The thinking of Antoine-Augustin Cournot has inspired a growing literature in economy and epistemology, but as of yet, his sociological thought has not been explicitly discussed and contextualized within the discipline. From the 1850s to the end of the 1870s, Cournot contributed significantly to the history of French sociology, particularly in the development of one essential idea: that forms of knowledge are intimately linked to the progress of reason. Philosophy, therefore, becomes interested in the development of the sciences, evolving as they do from the process of rationalizing human societies. Cournot’s comparative-historical sociology, “rediscovered” especially by Gabriel Tarde in the 20^th century, seeks to understand how a macro-sociological trend can depend on the aggregation of a host individual decisions and actions, or to discern a certain order out of apparent chaos.

Details

Published by: Palgrave Macmillan

Publication Date: 2019-01-18

Format: Hardcover

ISBN-13: 9783030046866

DOI: 10.1007/978-3-030-04687-3

Dimensions: 210cm x148cm

Pages: 166