Sociology and the Modern World

Abstract

This essay attempts to clarify sociology´s "commitment" to a modern world based on capitalist development. First, the principal classical theories are examined. They are shown to have risen alongside the challenges confronting society in the mid-19th Century. We are reminded that these theories continue providing models for sociological currents proposed in the 20th Century. Second, sociology´s fundamental themes, also created in the atmosphere of that society, are listed - themes that are still basic to the currents developed in the 20 Century. Third, the relationships between sociology and modernity are analysed. It is suggested that, in light of modernity, this discipline expresses dilemmas and perspectives of thought. Finally, it is suggested that sociology can be read as a literary from in which epic creations can be distinguished. Because of its themes and explanations, sociology ofteh resembles an epic of the modern world.