Theory and self-knowledge: new contours of social theory

Abstract

This text is a review of the book Contemporary Social Theory, by Patrick Baert and Filipe Carreira da Silva, published in 2023 by Ateliê Editorial. In this review, we present the book, highlighting both its character as a textbook and its proposal to develop a new agenda for social theory in the twenty-first century. With regard to Baert and Silva’s more original contribution, based on the intersection of philosophical pragmatism and hermeneutics, we outline its main features and offer critical comments on its development. In doing so, we hope to contribute to the dissemination and discussion of an up-to-date and exceptionally clear work on a range of intellectual traditions of major relevance to scholars in the social sciences.