The last Spencerians. Towards a canon of the first Ecuadorian sociology

Academic sociology in Ecuador started in 1915 with the establishment of the sociology chair at the Central University of Ecuador. This original moment entrenched a certain way of thinking about society, which included a canon of accepted classic authors. The development of a specific school of thoug...

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Main Author: Philipp Altmann
Format: Article
Language:Spanish
Published: Facultad Latinoamericana de Ciencias Sociales, Sede Ecuador 2021-09-01
Series:Íconos
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Online Access:https://revistas.flacsoandes.edu.ec/iconos/article/view/4803
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author Philipp Altmann
author_facet Philipp Altmann
author_sort Philipp Altmann
collection DOAJ
description Academic sociology in Ecuador started in 1915 with the establishment of the sociology chair at the Central University of Ecuador. This original moment entrenched a certain way of thinking about society, which included a canon of accepted classic authors. The development of a specific school of thought, which became dominant until the 50’s, made it more difficult for Ecuadorian sociology to incorporate new perspectives, especially when Ecuadorian sociology needed to open itself to the new currents of thought resulting from the creation of novel global and continental sociological institutions. However, this particular theory, which assumed that society evolved according to fixed natural laws and which granted elites a key role in promoting social progress; helped legitimize the discipline and provided a link with the then dominant ideas of political liberalism. The present article is based on an examination of the theories and concepts present in the most important texts invoked by practitioners during the central debates in early Ecuadorian sociology. The analysis of authors such as Agustín Cueva Sáenz, Belisario Quevedo, Ángel Modesto Paredes and Luis Bossano, allows for an adequate description of key the concepts present in their works and of the route followed in their efforts to develop adequate theoretic arguments. Additionally, a comparison of their ideas with Herbert Spencer´s shows that the earliest Ecuadorian sociology was not only positivistic, but also was heavily influenced by the Spenserian school.
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spelling doaj-art-742fa2ba5ce54f98a02c7d9949a8bfeb2025-02-02T12:46:03ZspaFacultad Latinoamericana de Ciencias Sociales, Sede EcuadorÍconos1390-12492224-69832021-09-01257110312010.17141/iconos.71.2021.4803The last Spencerians. Towards a canon of the first Ecuadorian sociologyPhilipp Altmann0https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5036-2988Universidad Central del EcuadorAcademic sociology in Ecuador started in 1915 with the establishment of the sociology chair at the Central University of Ecuador. This original moment entrenched a certain way of thinking about society, which included a canon of accepted classic authors. The development of a specific school of thought, which became dominant until the 50’s, made it more difficult for Ecuadorian sociology to incorporate new perspectives, especially when Ecuadorian sociology needed to open itself to the new currents of thought resulting from the creation of novel global and continental sociological institutions. However, this particular theory, which assumed that society evolved according to fixed natural laws and which granted elites a key role in promoting social progress; helped legitimize the discipline and provided a link with the then dominant ideas of political liberalism. The present article is based on an examination of the theories and concepts present in the most important texts invoked by practitioners during the central debates in early Ecuadorian sociology. The analysis of authors such as Agustín Cueva Sáenz, Belisario Quevedo, Ángel Modesto Paredes and Luis Bossano, allows for an adequate description of key the concepts present in their works and of the route followed in their efforts to develop adequate theoretic arguments. Additionally, a comparison of their ideas with Herbert Spencer´s shows that the earliest Ecuadorian sociology was not only positivistic, but also was heavily influenced by the Spenserian school.https://revistas.flacsoandes.edu.ec/iconos/article/view/4803history of sociologyinstitutionalizationliberalismlocalizationpositivismsociological theory
spellingShingle Philipp Altmann
The last Spencerians. Towards a canon of the first Ecuadorian sociology
Íconos
history of sociology
institutionalization
liberalism
localization
positivism
sociological theory
title The last Spencerians. Towards a canon of the first Ecuadorian sociology
title_full The last Spencerians. Towards a canon of the first Ecuadorian sociology
title_fullStr The last Spencerians. Towards a canon of the first Ecuadorian sociology
title_full_unstemmed The last Spencerians. Towards a canon of the first Ecuadorian sociology
title_short The last Spencerians. Towards a canon of the first Ecuadorian sociology
title_sort last spencerians towards a canon of the first ecuadorian sociology
topic history of sociology
institutionalization
liberalism
localization
positivism
sociological theory
url https://revistas.flacsoandes.edu.ec/iconos/article/view/4803
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