Ferdinand tönnies, sociologue empiriste

Abstract

Ferdinand Tönnies is best known in France for his contributions to sociological theory. Although rarely referenced, his commitment to empirical sociology also participates in a debate central to the history of German post-war social sciences. Tonnies' text "Statistics and Sociography" (written in 1928 but translated here into French for the first time) delivers a vibrant plea for an empirical science of the social, which he calls "sociography". This plea is marked by its opposition to the heavily theoretical trend in then-nascent German sociology. It is also marked by Tönnies' denunciation of the pretention of statistics to totally satisfy the demands of an empirical social science; he calls for an articulation between the quantitative and qualitative methods, between the deductive and inductive approaches. Offering access to an original aspect of Tönnies' œuvre and an improved understanding of his sociology, this text also provides a historical perspective on the constitution of social scientific disciplines in Germany. Not least, it enriches an ongoing epistemological debate over the use and status of statistics. © Le Seuil. Tous droits réservés pour tous pays.