Sociology as an Art Form

Robert Nisbet (1913-1996) is a writer that every conservative should read. Perhaps more than any other thinker, Nisbet showed the connection between the decline of community and the rise of government. Although something of a libertarian, his approach to society provides an excellent contrast to such individualist libertarians as Murray Rothbard. (Although Rothbard's view of society is not inconsistent with Nisbet's.) In this excellent little work, Nisbet explains how sociology (and other disciplines) resembles art. For example, consider the "classes" that make up Marxian thought, or the themes in Tocqueville's works. In many ways they resemble the characters in a Dickens novel. Just as Dickens' characters were meant to be "exemplars" of a certain type, Marx, Weber and other sociologists describe their "types" with artistic imagery. Nisbet has a fascinating chapter in which he shows how many scientists have conceived their work in artistic terms. There is an aspect of creativity that can't be reduced simply to experiments and statistics. Nisbet relies, in part, on the ideas of Thomas Kuhn. (While I don't agree with Kuhnian relativism (if that's what he in fact taught), his insights have a certain validity as a description of how science operates.) Nisbet makes the interesting observation that while scientists and artists tend to work alone or in small groups, government wages "war" on cancer, poverty, or whatever. These government programs are generally less than successful and probably stifle progress.Nisbet was, strictly speaking, a sociologist. However, his work encompasses what might be called the "history of ideas." Even if your interest is neither sociology nor art, you should read this book. This edition also contains an excellent introduction by Paul Gottfried.

Written both for readers new to sociology and those experienced in its study, Sociology As An Art Form shows how the founding sociologists such as Marx, Weber, Durkheim, and Simmel created generalized portraits of whole classes of people as a reflection to the portraits found in the literature of their period. Delving into the links between sociology and art to present an appraised estimate of sociology's contribution to modern culture, Sociology As An Art Form by the late Robert Nisbet (1913-1996), formerly Albert Schweitzer Professor in the Humanities, Columbia University, is an intriguing, scholarly, and enduring study recommended to students with an avid interest in this remarkable branch of the social sciences.