Beyond Sociology's Tower of Babel Reconstructing the Scientific Method

Going far beyond a programmatic effort to sketch what prevents sociologists from dismantling their tower of Babel and what might be done in the future, Phillips sets forth a second, heuristic image, that of a "web". He presents one illustration after another to document each aspect of a web approach to the scientific method, an approach that opens up to the theories and methods that have been developed within every substantive area of the discipline. His approach is similar to other developments of a synthetic orientation, that would link "micro" with "macro" phenomena. To the extent that the utility of the web approach holds up to empirical testing and comes to be established, it holds out to sociologists the promise of achieving the cumulative development and credibility that are hallmarks of any science. The book should be useful for courses in method, in the classical tradition of sociology, and in undergraduate seminars where the theoretical underpinnings of the discipline are taken up.