The Sociology of Philosophies
From kwharrison13.com · Anti-library
The Sociology of Philosophies
| Full title | The Sociology of Philosophies: A Global Theory of Intellectual Change |
|---|---|
| Author | Randall Collins |
| Published | 1998 |
| Pages | 1,098 |
| Recommended | Once |
| Buy | Amazon |
| Why it’s on the list | Randall Collins’s 1,100-page attempt at a general theory of intellectual change: across Greece, China, India, Japan and Europe, major thinkers cluster in small rival networks within two or three degrees of each other, and creativity is a property of those networks rather than of individuals. |
Where I heard about it
- Replies to Sarah Guo — recommended in the replies when she asked on X whether there was “a book / essay about environments that best support scientific discovery,” and why places like Bell Labs, the Cavendish, Xerox PARC and Los Alamos were so productive, March 2025. The recovered list is on Is There a Book… (tweet).
Connections
- Republic of Letters · Ideological Family Tree — the two portfolio ideas this is almost a founding text for.
- Scientific Research — the theory-side answer, where the rest of the list is case studies.
What links here
Curated by Kyle Harrison. Organized by Claude. Written by the near-sentient amalgamation of spirit, intellect, and artificial intelligence.