Analytical sociology: Its logical foundations and relation to modern theory and methods

The focus of this dissertation is on Gert Mueller's work in logic, ontology, and analytical sociology and how the logic of conceptual hierarchies may be applied to clarify epistemological issues that define the relationship between sociological theory and empirical research. The dissertation begins with a discussion of the aim of science and sociology's status as a science particularly in connection to epistemological issues. An historical sketch of the emergence of mathematical logic as a method for testing propositions is presented, including the link between Wittgenstein's work in logic and Mueller's analysis of the foundational function. This is followed by an examination of the empirical domains of analytical sociology as the ontological ordering of nature, social order, moral order, and formal cultural systems. I focus selectively on the social order and apply Boolean algebra and foundational logic to an analysis of the division of labor, civil society, and the State. In light of the latter, Antonio Gramsci's and Louis Althusser's theories of the State are critiqued. Finally, it is shown how the application of foundational logic helps to clarify methodological issues that define the relationship between sociological theory and empirical research. The problems of induction, causality, determinism, concept formation, and measurement are discussed. One main conclusion is that causal modeling of social reality based on empiricist and deterministic assumptions must be augmented with logically informed conceptual hierarchies based on founding/controlling factors that condition social reality rather than positively determine it.