By closely analysing the contributions of such theorists as More, Hobbes, Vico, Montesquieu, Ferguson and Millar to the emergence of sociology in its original form, this book follows the discursive construction of sociology in the context of the society-wide early modern practical discourse about violence and rights. Parallels with the nineteenth- and twentieth-century discourse on poverty and justice, and the contemporary discourse of risk and responsibility, allow the author for a reflection not only on the generation of knowledge through discourse but also on the role that sociology itself ... More

By closely analysing the contributions of such theorists as More, Hobbes, Vico, Montesquieu, Ferguson and Millar to the emergence of sociology in its original form, this book follows the discursive construction of sociology in the context of the society-wide early modern practical discourse about violence and rights. Parallels with the nineteenth- and twentieth-century discourse on poverty and justice, and the contemporary discourse of risk and responsibility, allow the author for a reflection not only on the generation of knowledge through discourse but also on the role that sociology itself plays in this process.