經驗實徵取向主導下的美國社會學：1880-2000年（上）   全文下載

American Sociology Under the Shadow of Empirical Positivism: 1880 to 2000 (I)

從歷史的角度來看，美國是一個以追求個人自由、平等與自我依賴作為核心信念的移民國家，採取實用主義的立場行事一直是美國人的基本態度，並形塑了深具（美國）例外主義的文化色彩。十九世紀中葉以降，特別是南北內戰結束後，由於工業化迅速發展，加上大量移民湧入等等因素，導致社會問題叢生。在教會與地方人士的合作下，剛在歐洲興起的社會學被視為是可以用來從事社會改革的「科學」知識，形塑了所謂的「教會社會學」。當學院社會學形成之後，此一重視實用的傳統被延續下來，具體表現出來的是強調經驗實徵（特別是量化）研究。特別是到了1930 年代後半葉，Parsons 的功能論透過Merton 的中距理論主張，與以Lazarsfeld 為主的量化經驗研究產生緊密結合，推展了具公設演繹形式的論述風格，遂順理成章地形塑為美國社會學的主流典範，並延續至今而不衰。

Speaking historically, as an immigrant nation in birth, the United States of America has formed as a society in which the pursuits for individual freedom, equality and self-reliance in alliance with an attitude of pragmatism are imprinted as the fundamental spirit. Since the middle period of the 19th century, particularly after the end of Civil War, the rapid growth of industrialization in line with an averse effect caused by a great swarm of immigrants made the entire society in jeopardy. It was at this time, the newly-born sociology was regarded as the scientific knowledge beneficial for social reform by the religious and political elites in locality. The result was to formulate a so-called Christian sociology in practice. Late, when academic sociology was established, it kept a pace along with such a same pragmatic line. Speaking in a practical way, “pragmatic” meant that empirical research (particularly quantitative study) was composed in requirement. Till the late 1930’s, quantitatively oriented empirical research led by Lazarsfeld, under the rubric of Parsons’ functionalism inbreeded with Merton’s middle-range theory, endorsed the axiomatic-deductive notion of theory construction which eventually made up the mainstream of American sociology until now.