"One of the most creative among the younger generation of critical social theorists, Giddens stands alone in his concern for the classical tradition on sociology; but he also makes brilliant use of the latest philosophical and theoretical work of several contemporary schools and disciplines. A very important book for all of social science."—Jeffrey C. Alexander

This is Volume of VII twenty-two on a series on Social Theory and Methodology. Originally published in 1961, this book was written because of the author’s sense of the inadequacies of a sociological tradition dominated by empiricism and positivism. The tradition of empiricism leads to attempts to settle public issues by reference to crude ad hoc generalisations. So “right-wing” facts are refuted by “left-wing” facts and vice versa, and in the argument which ensues nothing becomes clear except the value-biasses which the authors seek desperately to conceal. The tradition of positivism on the other hand fails in refusing to interpret observed correlations of fact except in terms of the natural sciences. So the sociologist often appears to have derived little more insight through his precise methods than the untutored layman is able to do through trusting to intuition and common-sense.

"One of the most creative among the younger generation of critical social theorists, Giddens stands alone in his concern for the classical tradition on sociology; but he also makes brilliant use of the latest philosophical and theoretical work of several contemporary schools and disciplines. A very important book for all of social science."—Jeffrey C. Alexander

This is Volume of VII twenty-two on a series on Social Theory and Methodology. Originally published in 1961, this book was written because of the author’s sense of the inadequacies of a sociological tradition dominated by empiricism and positivism. The tradition of empiricism leads to attempts to settle public issues by reference to crude ad hoc generalisations. So “right-wing” facts are refuted by “left-wing” facts and vice versa, and in the argument which ensues nothing becomes clear except the value-biasses which the authors seek desperately to conceal. The tradition of positivism on the other hand fails in refusing to interpret observed correlations of fact except in terms of the natural sciences. So the sociologist often appears to have derived little more insight through his precise methods than the untutored layman is able to do through trusting to intuition and common-sense.

This comprehensive text provides a constructionist/conflict approach to the various kinds of social problems that relate to deviance, institutions, and globalization. Social Problems consists of 16 chapters divided into 5 parts. Each chapter opens with a vignette that provides the nature and extent of a social problem, the conflicting views of the problem, various sociological theories of the problem, global aspects of the problem, social policies for dealing with the problem, and sociological insights on the problem that students can use to enhance their lives. Each chapter concludes with key terms, critical thinking questions, and internet resources. Key Features: *Provides an accessible, engaging writing style designed to help students master core concepts so you can spend less classroom time explaining basic concepts! *Includes interdisciplinary examples throughout making it ideal for courses taught out of Criminal Justice or Sociology departments. *Written to reflect the 2010 Census Update, this text is the most up-to-date and relevant resource on the subject. Instructor Resources include: *Instructor Manual - Includes tips for instructors for creating the course syllabus and both in-class and online student activities. Additionally, the manual includes answers to the questions in the student study guide and lecture outlines. *Complete TestBank - includes multiple-choice and true or false questions, all with answers and page references. Also includes short-answer questions and essays. *Microsoft? PowerPoint? lecture slides Student Resources will include a Companion Website featuring: *practice quizzes *chapter outlines & summaries *interactive flashcards *links to relevant research databases *newsfeed updates