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July 12, 2026Scottish Affairs0 citationsOpen Access

Scottish Enlightenment's Role in the Origins of Sociology

Roots and Routes: The Scottish Origins of Sociology

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DMDavid McCrone

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Overview

Explores the intellectual roots of sociology in Scotland, highlighting key thinkers and implications for the discipline.

Key Points

  • The study investigates the Scottish Enlightenment's contributions to sociology, challenging the dominant narratives surrounding the discipline's origins.
  • Critical assessment of previous literature on sociology's founding thinkers.
  • Analysis of key figures from the Scottish Enlightenment such as Adam Smith and David Hume.
  • Discussion of sociological theory development in relation to political economy.
  • Identifies Scottish Enlightenment thinkers as forerunners of sociology and proto-sociology.
  • Argues against the notion that sociology emerged only from radical critiques for social justice.
  • Highlights the importance of understanding sociology's intellectual origins to avoid contemporary fragmentation.
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Cite This Study

David McCrone (2026) studied this question.

synapsesocial.com/papers/6a532e014f7abc118adec9f5https://doi.org/10.3366/scot.2026.0602
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Also Consider

Synapse has enriched 5 closely related papers on similar clinical questions. Consider them for comparative context:

  1. 1Scotland, Union, and the French Revolution : an intellectual history of the debates concerning social order and commercial society in Scotland, with a final chapter concerning Ireland, c. 1771–18052026
  2. 2Sociology as Enlightenment2023
  3. 3The Elements of Social Order: Hutcheson, Ferguson and Millar2026
  4. 4Ibn Khaldun and Auguste Comte: A Comparative Analysis of the Founding Figures of Sociology2024
  5. 5The Conception of the Urban, 1800-18752024 · 1 citations