Page "Anthony Giddens, Baron Giddens" Paragraph 8

In New Rules of Sociological Method ( 1976 ) ( the title of which alludes to Durkheim's Rules of the Sociological Method of 1895 ), Giddens attempted to explain ' how sociology should be done ' and addressed a long-standing divide between those theorists who prioritise ' macro level ' studies of social life-looking at the ' big picture ' of society-and those who emphasise the ' micro level ' - what everyday life means to individuals.

In New Rules ... he noted that the functionalist approach, invented by Durkheim, treated society as a reality unto itself, not reducible to individuals.

He rejected Durkheim's sociological positivism paradigm, which attempted to predict how societies operate, ignoring the meanings as understood by individuals.

Giddens noted: