Racionalismo e empirismo na sociologia

Abstract

Starting with the observation that during the 1980s e 1990s in Brazil, sociology under the infl uence of Marxism became “methodology” and “epistemology”, that is, a discourse on discourse, the article analyzed the treatment given to the modern discussion on rationalism and empiricism. It argued that the opposition between rationalism and empiricism was not insurmountable, developing an understanding that allowed to highlight a game of presumption and subsumption between two thoughts instead of chosing between one of them, thus unresolving the opposition between reason and emotions. Illuminism is discussed through its two versions, rationalism and empiricism, and how those superseded the thought of Karl Marx, Émile Durkheim and Max Weber.