[A] rich, systematic and empirically grounded account of intellectual change in three civilizations. The Sociology of Philosophies is an ambitious, comprehensive, and brilliant account of the rationalization process of three world philosophies: Western, Indian, and Asian. In Collins’ analysis, this developmental process is shown to be generated via social and conceptual networks… The book expounds upon an immense range of intellectual history, and certainly makes inspiring and interesting reading. And, despite the heavy subject and incredible scope, Collins’ writing style resembles an oral lecture more than an abstruse disquisition.
European Sociological Review
What an impressive book Randall Collins has written…so broadly learned, so ambitious in its analysis, and readable to boot!The Sociology of Philosophies is a truly astonishing work of scholarship based on a vast global erudition…it offers rich, highly illuminating and provocative insights on a vast array of topics.
No sociologist who is seriously concerned with understanding intellectual life can afford to ignore it… Randall Collins has rendered a service to sociology second to none.
Canadian Journal of Sociology
[A] rich, systematic and empirically grounded account of intellectual change in three civilizations. The Sociology of Philosophies is an ambitious, comprehensive, and brilliant account of the rationalization process of three world philosophies: Western, Indian, and Asian. In Collins' analysis, this developmental process is shown to be generated via social and conceptual networks...The book expounds upon an immense range of intellectual history, and certainly makes inspiring and interesting reading. And, despite the heavy subject and incredible scope, Collins' writing style resembles an oral lecture more than an abstruse disquisition.
European Sociological Review - Ilan Talmud
The one work that all sociologists of ideas, novices and veterans alike, hereafter must read It is beyond question Randall Collins' masterpiece.
European Journal of Sociology - Charles Camic
No sociologist who is seriously concerned with understanding intellectual life can afford to ignore it...Randall Collins has rendered a service to sociology second to none.
Canadian Journal of Sociology - Peter Baehr
The Sociology of Philosophies is a truly astonishing work of scholarship based on a vast global erudition...it offers rich, highly illuminating and provocative insights on a vast array of topics.
What an impressive book Randall Collins has written...so broadly learned, so ambitious in its analysis, and readable to boot!
What an impressive book Randall Collins has written...so broadly learned, so ambitious in its analysis, and readable to boot!
This astonishing book testifies to decades of research through the greater part of philosophy--East and West. Collins, a University of Pennsylvania sociologist who has written many basic theoretical works (Sociological Insight, Oxford Univ., 1992) attacks myths of the origin and spread of ideas about knowledge and the world. He demolishes at least two. One is that ideas flow ready-made from the heads of a few great men. The other is that ideas are created by "cultures." Collins shows again and again that small groups are the source of innovation. They are often stimulated by a single figure who tends to move from group to group, but several people make a contribution. Small factual errors inevitably turn up in such a book, but overall the research is deep and sound, and years of debate should lead to refinements. Right now, this is a mine of valuable information--meant for academic libraries but really fostering the oldest aims of the public library. Written without pretense or jargon, it reaches out to the ordinary reader, who could acquire a rich education in the humanities just by following it through.--Leslie Armour, Dominican Coll. of Philosophy & Theology, Ottawa
. . .[B]reathtakingly comprehensive and ambitious. . .[however], he invariably takes on trust what is stated by commentators he has read. . .ignoring the energetic debate surrounding interpretation. . .although he is discussing the history of ideas, he all but ignores the ideas themselves. . .-- The New York Times Book Review
An astonishing achievement... I plan to read the book again at leisure, concentrating on the fine structure rather than the overall picture. New York Review of Books