Abstract
The main thesis is that Elias's work can play a paradigmatic role in a sociological theory development capable of synthesizing important com ponents of Marxian, Weberian, and Freudian theory. In addition, this is substantiated by an explication of his special process-oriented holon con ception of the relationship between society and individuals, and it is shown how this conception of the sociological object, allowing for the phenomena of emergence, is interrelated with a special kind of reconstructive modell ing - a methodological approach which, without differing from the basic methodological norms standard in the natural sciences, can transcend the limitation placed on the social sciences by the traditional interpretation of the 'scientific method'. The exposition also contains a critique of a tradi tional interpretation of Elias's work.
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