This radical appraisal of Durkheim's method, first published in 1988, argues that fundamental errors have been made in interpreting Durkheim. Mike Gane argues that to understand The Rules it is necessary also to understand the context of the French society in which the book was written. He explores the cultural and philosophical debates which raged in France during the period when Durkheim prepared the book and establishes the real and unsuspected complexity of Durkheim's position: its formal complexity, its epistemological complexity, and its historical complexity.
Biography
Mike Gane
'Durkheim's own reputation stands higher now than it ever has before and this latest expository work can only enhance that deserved status' - Times Higher Education Supplement
'Gane's analysis demonstrates clearly how, even in this "post modernist" age, Durkheim's Rules remains a challenging and enriching text' - Sociological Review
