The Natural Law Foundations of Modern Social Theory A Quest for Universalism [Paperback]

Daniel Chernilo offers an original reconstruction of the history of universalism in modern social thought from Hobbes to Habermas.What is universalism and is it relevant for contemporary social science? Daniel Chernilo answers these questions by considering key sources in natural law theory and modern social and political thought from Hobbes to Habermas. His work will engage students of sociology, social and political theory and moral philosophy.What is universalism and is it relevant for contemporary social science? Daniel Chernilo answers these questions by considering key sources in natural law theory and modern social and political thought from Hobbes to Habermas. His work will engage students of sociology, social and political theory and moral philosophy.After several decades in which it became a prime target for critique, universalism remains one of the most important issues in social and political thought. Daniel Chernilo reassesses the universalistic orientation of social theory and explains its origins in natural law theory, using an impressive array of classical and contemporary sources that include, among others, J?rgen Habermas, Karl L?with, Leo Strauss, Weber, Marx, Hegel, Rousseau and Hobbes. 'The Natural Law Foundations of Modern Social Theory' challenges previous accounts of the rise of social theory, recovers a strong idea of humanity and revisits conventional arguments on sociology's relationship to modernity, the Enlightenment and natural law. It reconnects social theory to its scientific and philosophical roots, its descriptive and normative tasks and its historical and systematic planes. Chernilo's defence of universalism for contemporary social theory will surely engage students of sociology, political theory and moral philosophy alike.Introduction; Part I. On the Relationships between Social Theory and Natural Law: 1. Contemporary social theory and natural law: J?rgen Habermas; 2. A natural law critique of modern social theory: Karl L?with, Lel#-