Why does sociology teaching uniquely require study of its classics? The answer, it is suggested, lies in the indeterminacy of the idea of what is social—what constitutes and exemplifies it, at different levels of abstraction, about which the classical sociologists diverge, as do their continuing legacies. Synthesis aiming at disciplinary-wide consensus is not, therefore, a promising path. Selective perception, it is further suggested, deepens insight.
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