The Natural Law Foundations of Modern Social Theory : a Quest for Universalism.

Acknowledgements; Introduction; Universalism; The decline of the normative in contemporary social theory; Plan of the book; Ten theses on the relationships between natural law and modern social theory; Part I On the relationships between social theory and natural law; 1 Contemporary social theory and natural law: Jürgen Habermas; Modernity and natural law; Sociology, modernity and the problem of the normative; Universalism and the postmetaphysical; Closing remarks; 2 A natural law critique of modern social theory: Karl Löwith, Leo Strauss and Eric Voegelin.

Secularisation and philosophical sociology: Karl LöwithPositivism and immanence: Leo Strauss; Gnosticism and the problem of the normative: Eric Voegelin; Closing remarks; Part II Natural law; 3 Natural law and the question of universalism; The centrality of universalism; Enlightenment, early Enlightenment and natural law; Closing remarks; 4 Modern natural law I: Hobbes and Rousseau on the state of nature and social life; Hobbes; Rousseau; Closing remarks; 5 Modern natural law II: Kant and Hegel on proceduralism and ethical life; Kant; Hegel; Closing remarks.

Part III Classical social theory6 Classical social theory I: Marx, Tönnies and Durkheim on alienation, community and society; Marx; Tönnies; Durkheim; Closing remarks; 7 Classical social theory II: Simmel and Weber on the universality of sociability and reasonableness; Simmel; Weber; Closing remarks; 8 Social theory as the natural law of 'artificial' social relations; Social theory as a modern intellectual genre; A claim to universalism; The centrality of modernity; The natural law of an artificial realm: social relations; Epilogue; Note on the original versions; References; Index.

Daniel Chernilo offers an original reconstruction of the history of universalism in modern social thought from Hobbes to Habermas.

Print version record.

Includes bibliographical references.

English.

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