世纪末忧郁与美国精神气质——帕森斯与古典社会理论的现代转变

帕森斯的《社会行动的结构》体现了一种独特的探究,历史的、经验的和理论的研究在其中融为一体。在学科史的意义上,《结构》标志着“古典”社会理论的“现代”转变。不过,帕森斯是以一种典型的“美国式”方式完成这种转变的。囿于20世纪20、30年代、尤其是“新政”时期的语境,他给予处于世纪之交的一些重要的社会理论一种全新的阐述,把它们从其生身处境的“世纪末”中剥离出来,并暗中赋予其一种积极、乐观的“美国精神气质”,在很大程度上消解了这些理论和经验探讨中原本具有的同“世纪末”的社会、文化背景及其时代问题的复杂关联。悖谬的是,这种“美国化”的阐述在某种意义上恰恰体现了帕森斯试图建构社会（科）学一般理论的宏图,蕴含着某种普遍历史的取向。

Melancholoa fin-de-siècle and American Ethos:Parsons and the Modern Transition of Classical Social Theory

Talcott Parsons’s the Structure of Social Action (1937) presents a unique inquiry, in which historical, empirical and theoretical approaches were blended together. The book treated social theories of the late 19th and early 20th century and the practical inquires made by those social theorists as the object of its empirical study, however, what it had accomplished was a foundational structure for social theories and their future development. The Structure forged a link between what was before and what came after in the history of sociology, marking the modern transition of classical sociological theories. On the one hand, by exploring major social theory contributors at the turn of the century, the Structure started a reflective sociological examination of its own tradition and development. On the other hand, by considering the totality of all the contributions, the Structure incorporated the basic elements of the classical social theories into modern a social action theory, or “voluntaristic theory of action” in Parsons’ term. Parsons’ book was written during the New Deal era. Under the influence of his time, Parsons gave an entirely new reading to the classical social theories. His interpretation hinted a typically activist and optimistic nature of “American ethos” and therefore separated the classical theories to the problems of their time. Interestingly, this Americanized interpretation serves as an evidence of Parsons’ ambition to build a universally applicable theoretical structure of social science.