Защо са ни класиците на социологията?
Why We Need the Classics of Sociology

Summary/Abstract: The article examines the question why scientific sociology in the 21st century should consistently deal with its classics. The author formulates the following criteria for defining a classic: the test of time, high literary value, and a special relation to society. In order to define a thinker as a classic of sociology it is absolutely necessary for his/her work to be in a representative and effective relation to the society in which and for which it was written. Among the criteria for being a classic of sociology, the author points out a thinker’s relevance for the development of sociological theory and/or for the (re)discovery of an important problem field and/or the invention of a new method for the study of that field. What makes a sociologist a classic is neither the specific results, as important as these may be, nor a separate book, but rather the introduction of new ways of viewing, which in turn leads to the creation of new concepts and methods. For a history of the classics of sociology to be sociologically acceptable, it is important that it demonstrate their „vitality“ by means of new readings and interpretations of their works at different stages of the development of the science. In the perspective of the scientific discipline of sociology, the „constructed“ classics play a central role: they create and ground identity.

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