PhD in sociology and PhD in philosophy, scientific researcher, Institute of Sociology of the Romanian Academy, e-mail address: dulust@gmail.com

ABSTRACT

By employing an agent-structure ontology specific to critical realism, the article poses two research questions related to the interdisciplinary activity of Paul Henri Stahl, on the centenary of his birth. First, is it possible to examine an author’s work in a sociological vein and what kind of sociological research does one carry out by exploring how an author taps into a particular structural opportunity? The second research question is directly related to Paul Henri Stahl and seeks to understand whether he can be deemed both a successor of the Sociological School of Bucharest and an innovator relative to the sociological tradition of the Gusti School. To answer the aforementioned questions, the article resorts to critical realism as a methodological choice and explores how Paul H. Stahl evolved into a master of interdisciplinary research under the influence of micro- and mezo-structural influences wielded by his father, Henri H. Stahl, and the Sociological School of Bucharest. The article also pays heed to Paul Henri Stahl’s agency in dealing and innovating with respect to such influences.

Keywords: Paul Henri Stahl, sociology of intellectuals, critical realism, Henri H. Stahl, the Sociological School of Bucharest. 

DOI: 10.59277/RJSoc.2025.5-6.05

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