The Bearing of the Sociology of Knowledge on Sociological Theory

Theoretical advancement in sociology is contingent upon an understanding of the cognitive framework of these who hope to convey an explanation of social phenomena. Throughout much of the history of sociology, disagreement as to how one should approach social theory has existed; the most marked difference being that between adherents of positivism and Those who, following Max Veber, attempt to view social reality through the subjective orientations of the individual or group. Speaking of the complicated and detailed classifications of modern sociological theories, one inveterate critic of sociology says that this multifariousness of classifications denotes a rather chaotic situation, but this is quite natural and not reprehensible at all. However in this thesis, the question of how and why these diverse approaches exist will be considered as a theoretical problem in itself

The Promise of International Tax Scholarship and Its Implications for Research Design, Theory, and Methodology

What should international tax scholars be doing? Over the past two decades, international tax has grown both as a practice area and as a field of study. Scholars have begun devoting significant attention to the development, design, and implementation of international tax law. This activity is accompanied by a reflection on the scholarship and its goals, method and content. A review of modern international tax scholarship reveals that as the field has matured, international tax scholars have increasingly turned to other disciplines, especially social sciences, to draw upon their insights, ideas, and research to improve understanding of international tax policy. But this intersection with the social sciences (and the humanities) forces us to confront some distinct differences between the approach of the legal academy to research and scholarship and the approaches reflected in other fields. As the tax academy increasingly reaches into other disciplines, we question what constitutes the core of our own discipline and what we can uniquely contribute. Ultimately, international tax scholars have a strong claim to a vital role. The importance of non-legal disciplines to the development of international tax policy, combined with the perceived inaccessibility of international tax to those working outside the field, renders international tax distinctive if not unique. The burden rests upon the tax community to establish a robust, broad and comprehensive research structure capable of integrating guidance from other disciplines. International tax scholars need to look beyond the traditional bounds of their field – but they cannot abdicate the territory to other disciplines. The real challenge is how to manage both strands effectively

Morgan Le Fay and other women : a study of the female phantasm in medieval literature

‘Morgan le Fay and Other Women’ is an interdisciplinary study that seeks to rationalise the various manifestations of a universal Other in medieval culture. Using Theresa Bane’s statement that ‘Morgan le F[a]y is a complicated figure in history and mythology; she has had many names and fulfilled many roles in religion and folklore’ as a focal argument, I present a methodology that identifies these ‘many names’ from what might be described as a primarily medieval perspective. Exploring the medieval notion of ‘character type’, this establishes a series of defining attributes that the culture of the period likely regarded as a ‘standard list’ for Morgan’s underlying identity: the Other Woman. Asserting that Morgan’s role in the medieval tradition is largely an attempt on to manifest this age-old concept in a variety of forms appropriate for different authors’ milieus and genres, this thesis suggests that medieval writers project onto the character a series of attributes recognised as Other from their own contexts. By applying this method, which has a basis in medieval semiotics and philosophy, to a range of characters, I propose that derivatives of the ‘Morganic’ persona might be found in a range of genres including medieval romance, drama, folklore, and, in my final chapter, the tradition of male outlaws

The Scotch metaphysics

Hume and the Rankenien Society, Reid, Stewart, Brown, Hamilton and Ferrie