Moral Realism in Historical Sociological Theory

Sociologists of morality often assume the field can undertake descriptive studies of moral claims (e.g., what are the social origins of moral systems, in what ways do moral systems change over time) but ought not and, indeed cannot, speak to the rightness or wrongness of moral claims in any scientific sense. However, many founders of the field of sociology suggested that moral claims should be viewed as historically, demographically and ecologically situated interdisciplinary attempts at establishing scientific facts about human well-being. This essay reviews the moral realism of sociology's founders, underscoring important components from each theorist's approach.