The Social Role of the Man of Knowledge

Florian Znaniecki

Feb. 2020 · Routledge

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In this seminal contribution to the sociology of knowledge, first published in 1940, Florian Znaniecki develops a typology of the variety of specific social roles that scholars have played, and investigates the normative patterns that govern their behavior. A central tool for the investigation of these problems is the notion of “social circle”, the audience to which intellectuals address themselves. Znaniecki shows that thinkers do not speak to the total society but address selected segments and markets. Specific social circles bestow recognition, provide material or psychic support, and help shape the self-image of the thinker.

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Florian Znaniecki (1882-1958) was philosopher, sociologist, and forty-fourth president of the American Sociological Association. In 1920 he accepted the first Polish chair in sociology at Adam Mickiewicz University where he organized the Polish Sociological Institute. He was also lecturer at Columbia University from 1931-1933, and again in 1939. He is best known for the idea of culturalism, which is one of the ideas that helped found the thought of antipositivism.