Caritas and Community: Reflections on the Conservative Sociological Art of Robert Nisbet

Adler, Judith. "Caritas and Community: Reflections on the Conservative Sociological Art of Robert Nisbet." Society 52, vo. 4. 2015: (316-23). doi:10.1007/s12115-015-9907-1

Abstract:

Nisbet’s conception of sociology practiced as an art form: multivocality, tolerance for uncertainty, wealth of invention, reservation of judgement. Tocqueville as exemplar. Nisbet’s own writings evaluated in the light of his best insights. A southern white perspective on the central state, shaped in later years by quest for recognition in a rising conservative movement. Lesson to be gleaned: discernment in the deployment of wit, and cultivation of ‘caritas’, essential features of sociological writing capable of enduring the test of time.

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