As a student at the University of Utrecht, in 1975, I had to study Lewis Coser’s Masters
of Sociological Thought. I liked the way in which Coser presented the life and work of 12
renowned sociologists. His book inspired me to write a similar book. As a European, and
several decades later I had to make different choices, less American sociologists, to
make room for new masters of sociology that had made their mark after 1975. Of
course, I am aware that all sociologists that teach social theory have their own view on
the renowned sociologists that belong or do not belong to the canon of sociology.
Nonetheless, I am convinced that students of sociology will profit from studying the work
of all the masters that are presented and discussed in Icons of Sociology. I hope that
anyone with an interest in the history of sociological thinking will profit from reading my
introduction or reading some of its chapters.
Two centuries ago, Auguste Comte coined the term sociology. He argued that
modernizing societies urgently need a science that could explain and foresee
fundamental social changes. He was concerned about the aftermath of the French
revolution and fretted about the disruptions caused by industrialization, urbanization and
secularization. In his view, it must be possible to generate scientifically based knowledge
that could channel processes of social change and prevent mayhem and revolutions. He
strongly advocated that this new science of sociology should become a real science by
copying the objective and rigorous methods of the physical sciences. He realized that to
understand and explain the dynamics of social organizations, communities and whole
societies was very difficult. This complexity was probably the main reason why sociology
hadn’t entered the arena of sciences earlier. It also might be a reason why progress is
slow. Nevertheless, social history has produced some creative geniuses that have
constructed a solid and multilayered basis for this new scientific discipline. There is
widespread consensus that Karl Marx, Emile Durkheim and Max Weber form some kind
of holy trinity. They gave sociology a very good start, though the political philosophy of
Marx has fallen into disrepute because it has been abused by political leaders of the
communist world. Many insights of Marx, Durkheim and Weber are still valid today. They
have opened our eyes for the social effects of rapid industrialization, urbanization and
rationalization. There are very few contemporary social theorists of international stature
that have not tried to incorporate their major theories and insights in their own work in
order to lift sociological theory to a higher plane.
After this short prelude, it will be no surprise that I start with a discussion of the life and
work of Auguste Comte (1797-1857). The second chapter is about the life and works of
Karl Marx (1818-1883). In many respects he was the opposite of Comte. Marx was a
theorist and propagandist of revolutions, whereas Comte put all his theoretical energy in
the attempt to prevent revolutionary situations. Marx wanted to destroy capitalist
industrialism, whereas Comte wanted to guide it into a more humane direction. Both
were blocked to make a professional career within the academic world. They had to
survive with financial support of friends.
The third chapter is devoted to the biography and studies of Emile Durkheim (1958-
1917). Durkheim was the first professor of sociology in France. In many ways his work
reminds us of the ideas and goals of Comte. He wanted to study social facts as if they
were material things. In his view, social facts could be researched and analyzed
objectively. He shared Comte’s concern with social order, cohesion and consensus.
Both believed that if religion and the morals based on religion were losing their grip on
society, they had to be replaced by a secular form of moral education.
The fourth chapter focuses the life and work of Georg Simmel (1858 – 1918). His
approach to social or cultural science is rather different. Simmel did not aim for general
theories, but wanted to detect essential characteristics of social forms. He hoped to find
basic features of social types that could be discovered in a wide range of social
organizations or social relations. Simmel enriched sociology with brilliant essays about
all kinds of people and lifestyles and produced very interesting views on money and
domination. He argued that conflicts also have positive social functions.
The fifth chapter is about Max Weber (1864-1920). This renowned German sociologist
introduced the methodology of constructing ideal types, partly for the same kind of
reasons that Simmel was searching for social forms. Weber propagated a positivistic
approach of science in which hypotheses have to be presented and tested, though he
also recognized that the subject matter of sociology is quite different from that of
physical science. No chapter on the work of Max Weber is complete without a
presentation of his seminal study “The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism.”
The sixth chapter is devoted to the work of Talcott Parsons (1902-1979). Parsons
introduced the work of other famous European sociologists to an American audience.
His widely known book “The Structure of Social Action” is based on a synthesis of the
work of Emile Durkheim, Max Weber, the Italian Vilfredo Pareto and the English
economist Alfred Marshall. However, after a few decades of rising fame, Parson’s work
was severely criticized by a new generation of sociologists. Overlooking his work on
social dynamics and social change, they found theoretical model of society too static.
Marxist sociologists dismissed his work as being too conservative.
Norbert Elias (1897-1990) was born five years earlier than Parsons, but his
breakthrough in sociology occurred when Parsons’ work fame going south. Like most
modern sociologists Elias had interpreted the latter’s work and his models in a static
mode, ignoring Parsons’ focus on social processes and evolution. Elias always
emphasized the complex and dynamic character of social figurations. His major work,
The Civilizing Process, sketched how the culture of European societies changed due to
important structural, demographical, historical, and political changes. Norbert Elias
highlighted the increase in rationalization, individualization and personal self-constraint.
To Elias, the crucial factor in the evolution of civilization is a steady growth of self-
constraint.
The eighth chapter is devoted to the work of Mary Douglas (1920-2007). Whereas
Parsons has become famous for his fourfold model of basic social functions, Mary
Douglas drew a lot of attention to her fourfold group-grid model. Group denotes the
variable that indicates the level of social cohesion and commitment to the group
(weak/strong). Grid denotes the variable that ascribes the level of regulation
(weak/strong). Combining group and grid produces a model of four entirely different
social settings. This model is very useful for the cultural analysis of societies or groups
that resemble sects, markets, cohesive hierarchical organization like convents and,
fourth, non-cohesive groups of isolates.
Chapter 9 is dedicated to the work of Peter Berger (1929-2017). His Invitation to
Sociology has inspired me to study sociology at a moment that I was studying
mathematics. I decided, after a long discussion with my wife, to stop studying
mathematics half way, and to try my luck with sociology in combination with a part-time
job as math teacher. Peter Berger’s work focusses on the social construction of reality
and the intertwining of individuals with society. His views on the war on the family or the
capitalist revolution can come as a surprise for those who tend to view the traditional
family as a patriarchal anachronism and capitalism as source of all evil. Pierre Bourdieu
(1930-2002) is another great icon of sociology. An overview of his best known works is
presented in chapter 10. Bourdieu produced a stunning number of books and essays.
His most renowned book is Distinction. Herein he sharply analyzed the relationship
between cultural capital and social origin. He explained that this relationship aggravates
the reproduction of social inequality. Culture and lifestyles become markers that lead to
exclusion and self-exclusion. He has refined and expanded the approach of Karl Marx by
expanding the concept of capital to non-economic dimensions and by foregrounding
culture as an important factor in processes of social reproduction. The last chapter
renders the work of Jürgen Habermas, a German philosopher and sociologist (1929-
2026). He had set himself the task of theoretically unraveling the deeper causes of the
negative turns taken by modernity. His main objective was to contribute valuable insights
that can help mankind to emancipate itself from the wrong world in which it has
maneuvered itself, because of its one-dimensional emphasis on instrumental reason. He
believes that the project of modernity still can be salvaged if not only we acknowledge
the validity claims of truth produced by positivistic science, but also the validity claims of
social justice and psychological sincerity. No longer should private life worlds be
colonized by the imperatives of the economy or the tactics of power politics.
I hope sociology students and other readers of this book will enjoy this tour through the
history of sociology. A tour that brings them into contact with fascinating examples of
social theory and empirical research of five German, three French, two American and
one English sociologist.
It has always been my aim to write clear texts, especially when the subject matter is far
from simple. From 2004 till 2012, students of University College Roosevelt have
evaluated my texts positively. I hope your evaluation will be positive too.
Gouda, 15 June 2026