The Metaphorical Society: An Invitation to Social Theory

by Daniel Rigney

This book introduces the novice reader to modern social theory through the creative exploration of eight major metaphors that have shaped Western understandings of human society. Rigney vividly yet concisely examines each major theoretical perspective in sociology, including functionalism, conflict theory, rational choice, and symbolic interactionism. He shows how each of these theories is rooted in a particular metaphorical tradition. Over decades and centuries, Rigney argues, social theorists have variously likened societies to organisms and living systems, to machines, battlefields, legal systems, marketplaces, games, theatrical productions, and discourses. Most interestingly, Rigney deftly shows how nearly all Western social theories fit with one or more of the metaphors. He emphasizes a humanistic understanding of society with an emphasis on the creative agency of social actors and communities. The book offers students a rich understanding of social theory, yet it is simultaneously concise and broad ranging, allowing instructors to further pursue detailed exploration of any perspectives they choose.

Genres: Sociology, Nonfiction

254 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2001

Reviews

[Andrew Gagne · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a must read for every from all walks of live. What I like about this book is that it teaches the plurality of different views about society and how you must be careful not to take one idea seriously.

[Jon · Rating 4 out of 5]

How to organize and present the study of social theory, that chameleon of academic pursuits?

To the uninitiated, sociology can present as a sort of “philosophy lite,” forever bogged down in defining its own terms. Or as political science, or as psychology, or as economics, or as something else bending the world through its own prism. Or as an infant discipline, then an adolescent, trying to overcome its tendency to trumpet great meaning from the act of pointing out the obvious. How does one nail this jello to the wall?

In The Metaphorical Society: An Invitation to Social Theory, Daniel Rigney does it by first setting up eight boxes – eight metaphors for society – and then fitting the main currents of social theory into the boxes. So we have society as living organism, as machine, as conflict, as legal system, as marketplace, as game, as theater, and as conversation. As Rigney considers each metaphor, he explains the thought of major contributors to that tradition and points out the benefits and shortcomings of that particular metaphorical view. This is all very instructive and intellectually satisfying, like organizing a discussion with Socrates, Marx, Durkheim and Deborah Tannen in your living room. And it makes an effective “invitation” to social theory. Many no doubt will accept the invitation and attend the party.

But Rigney’s invitation itself -- the framework of metaphor boxes he uses to organize social theories -- merits further exploration; that is, a fuller consideration of the use of metaphors to describe society: an exploration beyond this book’s introductory chapter and postscript noting the benefits and shortcomings of using metaphors in this way. Why did social theorists choose the particular approaches that Rigney fits into his eight metaphor boxes when they did? Does the movement from one set of metaphors to another track the development of human society? Or is it random? Or something in-between? Are all of the boxes always there … or always there, but of varying sizes in different epochs? Perhaps Rigney or others will consider these questions in a post-invitational book, something like The Metaphorical Society: Origins and Flux.