The Social Compulsions of Ideas: Towards a Sociological Analysis

This volume collects Gerard DeGru's writings, spanning four decades of activity. From his thesis on the theory of semiotics in Sorokin and Spengler to his later writings drawing a sharp distinction between the sociology of knowledge and sociological theories of knowledge, DeGru remains sensitive to the place of language in knowledge formation.

“Gerard DeGré is among the handful of native-born sociologists who helped to introduce the novel field of the sociology of knowledge to an American audience. . . . The present volume, clearly a labor of love, contains most of DeGré’s writings, some of them in slightly abbreviated form. The volume is indispensible for students in the sociology of knowledge and is of considerable interest for anybody interested in sociological theory.”

—Lewis A. Coser, Contemporary Sociology