Philosopher/Scholar	Key Work	Year	Main Contribution	Concepts/Ideas	Notes
Auguste Comte	Cours de Philosophie Positive	1830-1842	Father of Sociology	Positivism, Social Statics, Social Dynamics	Proposed a hierarchy of sciences.
Emile Durkheim	The Division of Labor in Society	1893	Social Cohesion	Collective Consciousness, Anomie	Established sociology as a discipline.
Max Weber	The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism	1905	Social Action	Verstehen, Ideal Types	Explored the relationship between culture and economy.
Karl Marx	Capital: Critique of Political Economy	1867	Critique of Political Economy	Historical Materialism, Class Struggle	Influenced sociology and economics.
John Stuart Mill	A System of Logic	1843	Inductive Reasoning	Method of Difference, Method of Agreement	Contributions to scientific methodology.
Wilhelm Dilthey	Introduction to the Human Sciences	1883	Human Sciences vs. Natural Sciences	Hermeneutics, Erlebnis (Lived Experience)	Focus on understanding human experiences.
Hannah Arendt	The Human Condition	1958	Political Theory	Public/Private distinction, Banality of Evil	Exploration of the human condition and politics.
Thomas Kuhn	The Structure of Scientific Revolutions	1962	Scientific Paradigms	Paradigm Shifts, Normal Science	Transformative view on scientific progress.
Paul Feyerabend	Against Method	1975	Critique of Methodology	Epistemological Anarchism	Argued against a universal scientific method.
Michel Foucault	Discipline and Punish	1975	Power Dynamics	Biopower, Governmentality	Investigated the relationship between power and knowledge.
Jürgen Habermas	The Theory of Communicative Action	1981	Communicative Rationality	Lifeworld, Public Sphere	Focus on communication in social theory.
Pierre Bourdieu	Distinction: A Social Critique of the Judgement of Taste	1979	Cultural Capital	Habitus, Field, Capital	Explored the interplay between culture and social structures.
Alfred Schütz	The Phenomenology of the Social World	1932	Social Phenomenology	Intersubjectivity, Life-World	Explored individual experiences in social contexts.
Isaiah Berlin	Two Concepts of Liberty	1958	Political Philosophy	Positive Liberty, Negative Liberty	Distinguished different notions of freedom.
Richard Rorty	Philosophy and the Mirror of Nature	1979	Pragmatism	Contingency, Ironist	Critique of traditional philosophy and epistemology.
Judith Butler	Gender Trouble	1990	Gender Theory	Performativity, Gender Identity	Challenged traditional views on gender and identity.
John Searle	The Construction of Social Reality	1995	Social Ontology	Institutional Facts, Status Functions	Analyzed the nature of social constructs.
Charles Taylor	Sources of the Self	1989	Identity and Modernity	Modern Identity, Moral Frameworks	Exploration of individual identity in modern societies.
Ruth Benedict	Patterns of Culture	1934	Cultural Anthropology	Culture as Personality, Cultural Relativity	Influenced cultural anthropology and sociology.
C. Wright Mills	The Sociological Imagination	1959	Sociological Perspective	Personal Troubles vs. Public Issues	Encouraged a sociological perspective on personal issues.
Emmanuel Levinas	Totality and Infinity	1961	Ethics and Responsibility	Otherness, Asymmetrical Ethical Relationship	Focus on ethics in societal relations.
Zygmunt Bauman	Liquid Modernity	2000	Postmodern Society	Liquid Modernity, Consumerism	Analyzed contemporary social changes.
Herbert Blumer	Symbolic Interactionism	1969	Social Interaction	Meaning, Interaction, Society	Developed a framework for understanding social interactions.
Norbert Elias	The Civilizing Process	1939	Civilization and Society	Figurations, Social Process	Examined the development of civility in societies.
Anthony Giddens	The Constitution of Society	1984	Structuration Theory	Agency, Structure	Sought to bridge the gap between agency and structure.
Martha Nussbaum	The Fragility of Goodness	1986	Philosophy and Ethics	Capabilities Approach	Explored human vulnerabilities and ethics.
David Hume	A Treatise of Human Nature	1739-1740	Empiricism and Human Understanding	Causation, Skepticism	Influenced empiricism and social theory.
Gabriel Tarde	The Laws of Imitation	1890	Sociology of Imitation	Imitation, Social Dynamics	Focus on social behavior and imitation.
Harriet Martineau	Society in America	1837	Sociology and Sociology Method	Social Research, Gender Issues	Pioneering work in sociology from a gender perspective.
Rene Descartes	Meditations on First Philosophy	1641	Epistemology	Cogito, Rationalism	Foundation of modern philosophy influencing social science.
Elizabeth Anderson	Value in Ethics and Economics	1993	Social Justice	Relational Egalitarianism	Connected ethics with social principles of justice.
Frantz Fanon	Black Skin, White Masks	1952	Colonialism and Identity	Psychological Effects of Colonialism	Analyzed race and identity under colonial rule.
Alasdair MacIntyre	After Virtue	1981	Virtue Ethics	Narrative Tradition, Community	Critiqued contemporary moral philosophy and advocated virtue ethics.
Donna Haraway	A Cyborg Manifesto	1985	Feminist Theory	Cyborg Theory, Feminism	Challenged traditional boundaries in gender and technology.
Victor Turner	The Ritual Process	1969	Ritual Theory	Liminality, Communitas	Study of ritual and its social implications.
Robert Putnam	Bowling Alone	2000	Social Capital	Civic Engagement, Trust	Examined decline in social capital in America.
George Herbert Mead	Mind, Self, and Society	1934	Social Behaviorism	Self, Social Interaction	Developed concepts of self and social behavior.
Friedrich Nietzsche	On the Genealogy of Morals	1887	Moral Philosophy	Master-Slave Morality, Will to Power	Influenced existentialism and social theory.
Sigmund Freud	The Interpretation of Dreams	1900	Psychoanalysis	Unconscious, Psychosexual Development	Impact on social sciences through psychology.
Bell Hooks	Ain't I a Woman?	1981	Feminist Thought	Interlocking Oppressions, Feminism	Focus on race, gender, and social class.
Pierre Rancière	The Ignorant Schoolmaster	1987	Education and Politics	Aesthetic Politics, Emancipation	Explored pedagogy and revolutionary politics.
Claude Lévi-Strauss	Structural Anthropology	1958	Structuralism	Binary Oppositions, Totemism	Analyzed culture through a structuralist lens.
Catherine Malabou	The New Wounded	2007	Neuroscience and Philosophy	Plasticity, Trauma	Investigated the impact of trauma on identity.
Bruno Latour	We Have Never Been Modern	1991	Actor-Network Theory	Modernity, Hybrid Ecology	Critiqued traditional notions of modernity.
John Dewey	Democracy and Education	1916	Educational Philosophy	Experience, Pragmatism	Influence on education and democratic culture.
Seyla Benhabib	The Claims of Culture	2002	Cultural Studies	Identity, Migration	Explores identity politics in the modern world.
Michael Walzer	Spheres of Justice	1983	Political Philosophy	Complex Equality, Justice	Proposed ideas on justice and distribution.
Timothy Mitchell	Carbon Democracy	2011	Political Economy	Oil and Politics	Analyzed the relationship between energy and democracy.
Celia Roberts	Revisiting Social Constructionism	2000	Social Constructionism	Feminism, Language	Investigated the role of language in social construction.
Judith Shklar	The Faces of Injustice	1990	Political Theory	Injustice, Liberalism	Examined the nature of injustice in society.
Charles Lindblom	The Policy-Making Process	1959	Public Policy	Incrementalism, Rationality	Contributions to the understanding of policy processes.
Deborah Stone	Policy Paradox	1988	Public Policy	Rationality, Politics	Critique of rational decision-making in policy.
Angela Davis	Women, Race & Class	1981	Feminist Theory	Intersectionality	Explored intersections of race, gender, and class.
Kate Manne	Down Girl	2018	Feminist Theory	Misogyny, Social Norms	Analysis of misogyny in society.
Susan Wolf	Meaning in Life	2010	Philosophy of Life	Meaning, Moral Philosophy	Explored philosophical concepts of meaningful life.
Logan Fox	The Nature of Social Science	2019	Sociology	Methodological Approaches, Interdisciplinarity	Examined the methods used in social sciences.
Amartya Sen	Development as Freedom	1999	Development Economics	Capabilities, Freedom	Redefined development through the perspective of freedom.
Unitas Film	Examining Social Constructs	2020	Visual Sociology	Media Influence, Social Constructs	Investigated the impact of media on social norms.
Jacques Rancière	The Politics of Aesthetics	2004	Political Philosophy	Aesthetics, Politics of Distribution	Explored intersections of art and politics.
Jeffrey Alexander	Cultural Pragmatics	2004	Cultural Sociology	Cultural Sociology	Investigated cultural practices in social contexts.
Elle Harris	Social Media and Identity	2015	Sociology of Technology	Identity Construction, Digital Sociology	Investigated the impact of social media on identity.
Hannah Arendt	On Revolution	1963	Political Theory	Revolution, Freedom	Analyzed the nature and consequences of revolutions.
Pierre Bourdieu	The Logic of Practice	1980	Sociology	Habitus, Field	Explored the relationship between culture and practice.
Anthony Giddens	Runaway World	1999	Globalization	Globalization, Modernity	Described changes in globalization and social relations.
Charles Taylor	A Secular Age	2007	Philosophy of Religion	Secularization, Modernity	Explored the notion of secularism in modern societies.
Edward Said	Orientalism	1978	Cultural Criticism	Otherness, Colonialism	Critique of Western depictions of Eastern cultures.
Sherry Turkle	Alone Together	2011	Technology and Society	Digital Relationships, Loneliness	Explored technology's impact on human relationships.
Michael Foucault	The History of Sexuality	1976	Sexuality Studies	Power/Knowledge, Sexuality	Investigated the social construction of sexuality.
Richard Sennett	The Fall of Public Man	1977	Sociology	Public Space, Social Relations	Analyzed the decline of public engagement and space.
Vivienne Westwood	Fashion as a Form of Protest	2017	Cultural Studies	Fashion, Activism	Explored the role of fashion in social engagement.
Simon Frith	The Sociology of Music	1981	Cultural Sociology	Music and Identity, Cultural Production	Investigated the sociological implications of music.
David Harvey	The Condition of Postmodernity	1989	Geography and Social Theory	Postmodernism, Capitalism	Interconnectedness of social relations, space, and time.
Deirdre McCloskey	Bourgeois Dignity	2010	Economic History	Capitalism, Ethics	Argued for the role of dignity in economic development.
Jay Rosen	What Are Journalists For?	1999	Journalism Studies	Public Sphere, Media Criticism	Examined the role of journalism in modern society.
Barbara Ehrenreich	Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting by in America	2001	Sociology of Work	Labor, Poverty	Investigated issues of wage labor and poverty.
Nancy Fraser	Justice Interruptus	1997	Political Theory	Social Justice, Feminism	Critiqued present-day conceptions of justice.
Pierre Bourdieu	An Invitation to Reflexive Sociology	1992	Sociology	Reflexivity, Social Theory	Reflexive approach to understanding social practices.
Albert O. Hirschman	Exit, Voice, and Loyalty	1970	Political Economy	Exit, Voice, Loyalty	Examined the dynamics of response to decline in organizations.
Robert K. Merton	Social Theory and Social Structure	1949	Sociology	Role Theory, Functions	Influenced sociological theory with concepts of roles and functions.
Stephen Toulmin	The Uses of Argument	1958	Logic and Philosophy	Argumentation, Reasoning	Contributed to the theory of argumentation in social contexts.
Albert Bandura	Social Learning Theory	1977	Psychology and Sociology	Observational Learning, Self-Efficacy	Influenced understanding of learning in social contexts.
Lawrence Lessig	Free Culture	2004	Law and Society	Intellectual Property, Digital Culture	Critique of copyright and culture in the digital age.
Boris Groys	Going Public	2010	Cultural Theory	Publicness, Art	Explored the relationship between art and public presence.
Abby L. Kearns	Social Media in Society	2018	Digital Sociology	Technology, Identity	Investigated the intersection of social media and identity.
Jane Mansbridge	Beyond Adversary Democracy	1980	Political Theory	Democratic Theory, Participation	Explored participatory democracy and civic engagement.
Albert Hofstadter	On the Comparative Method	1970	Philosophy of Science	Comparative Analysis, Methodology	Influenced methodology in social research.
Tomas Piketty	Capital in the Twenty-First Century	2013	Economics	Wealth Inequality, Capitalism	Studied economics and wealth distribution in modern society.
Linda McDowell	Gender, Identity and Place	1999	Cultural Geography	Gender, Work	Explored gender dynamics in geographical contexts.
Noam Chomsky	Manufacturing Consent	1988	Media Studies	Propaganda, Media Manipulation	Critiqued the media's role in shaping public opinion.
Samantha Power	A Problem from Hell	2003	International Relations	Human Rights, Foreign Policy	Examination of US foreign policy and human rights.
Steven Lukes	Power: A Radical View	1974	Political Sociology	Three Dimensions of Power	Introduced a multifaceted view of power in society.
Richard Dawkins	The Selfish Gene	1976	Evolutionary Biology	Gene-Centered View, Memetics	Introduced the idea of memes in cultural evolution.
Joseph Stiglitz	Globalization and Its Discontents	2002	Economics	Globalization, Economic Policy	Critique of globalization policies and practices.
William James	Pragmatism	1907	Philosophy	Pragmatism, Radical Empiricism	Developed pragmatic philosophy impacting social sciences.
Emmanuel Wallerstein	The Modern World-System	1974	World-Systems Theory	Core-Periphery, Capitalism	Developed theories on global socio-economic structures.
Daniel Kahneman	Thinking, Fast and Slow	2011	Psychology	Cognitive Bias, Decision-Making	Influenced understanding of decision-making processes.
Richard Epstein	Simple Rules for a Complex World	1995	Law and Economics	Complexity, Legal Theory	Critiqued complexities in law and economics.
Luigi Zingales	A Capitalism for the People	2012	Economics	Economic Reform, Sociology	Advocated for reforms benefiting the public.
Anthony Giddens	The Third Way	1998	Political Theory	Social Democracy, Governance	Proposed a new centrist political approach.
Georg Simmel	The Philosophy of Money	1900	Sociology	Social Forms, Money	Explored the social implications of money.
Patricia Hill Collins	Black Feminist Thought	1990	Feminist Theory	Intersectionality, Social Theory	Explored the intersection of race, gender, and class.
Amartya Sen	The Idea of Justice	2009	Political Philosophy	Social Justice, Capabilities	Developed a new framework for justice.
Juliet Mitchell	Women: The Longest Revolution	1966	Feminist Theory	Sexual Politics, Gender Roles	Analyzed women's roles in society.
Daniel Dennett	Consciousness Explained	1991	Philosophy of Mind	Consciousness, Free Will	Explored the nature of consciousness and decision-making.
Richard Rorty	Philosophy as Cultural Politics	2007	Pragmatism	Cultural Politics, Epistemology	Connected philosophy with culture and politics.
George Lakoff	Metaphors We Live By	1980	Cognitive Linguistics	Metaphor, Framing	Explored the role of metaphor in thought and communication.
Ulrich Beck	Risk Society	1992	Sociology	Reflexive Modernization, Risk	Analyzed modern society's relationship with risk.
David Carroll	Constitution of the Body Politic	1999	Political Theory	Political Identity, Democracy	Explored the connection between body and politics.
Lawrence Solomon	History of Atheism in the West	2007	Philosophy of Religion	Atheism, Secularism	Historical analysis of atheism.
Eva Illouz	Consuming the Romantic Utopia	1997	Cultural Sociology	Love, Consumer Culture	Examined the interplay between romance and consumerism.
Richard Sennett	The Craftsman	2008	Sociology	Craftsmanship, Work	Explored the value of craftsmanship in modern society.
Kingston University's Philosophy Club	The Role of Philosophy in Society	2021	Philosophy	Public Philosophy, Social Awareness	Discussion of philosophy's role in addressing social issues.
Stephen Hawking	A Brief History of Time	1988	Science Philosophy	Cosmology, Science	Contributed to discussions on science's role in knowledge.
Thomas Piketty	Capital and Ideology	2019	Economic History	Inequality, Political Economy	Further explored themes of wealth and inequality.
Alfred Marshall	Principles of Economics	1890	Economics	Supply and Demand, Welfare Economics	Foundation for microeconomics and welfare economics.
Michael Sandel	Justice: What's the Right Thing to Do?	2009	Political Philosophy	Justice, Morality	Engaged the public in discussions about justice.
E. O. Wilson	Sociobiology	1975	Biology and Sociology	Ecosystem, Evolutionary Psychology	Link between biology and social behaviors.
Universities Publishing	The Impact of Globalization on Society	2020	Global Studies	Globalization, Social Change	Investigated how globalization reshapes social relations.
Julia Kristeva	The Kristeva Reader	1986	Psychoanalysis	Semiotics, Feminism	Contributed to psychoanalysis and literary theory.
Thomas Nagel	The View from Nowhere	1986	Philosophy	Subjectivity, Objectivity	Explored epistemology and perspectives in philosophy.
Roderick Long	Anarchist Economics	2004	Political Economy	Anarchism, Economics	Examined economic frameworks within anarchist theory.
Judith Butler	Frames of War	2004	Cultural Studies	War, Identity	Analyzed the cultural framing of war and its impacts.