Book Review

Methods/Theory

Randall Collins's purpose in this book is to articulate a theoretical framework for understanding the history of philosophy. As the title suggests, his approach is sociological: he sees the functioning of intellectual communities as a special case of the interaction rituals that Erving Goffman found everywhere in social life, with ideas functioning as "intellectual sacred objects" that define the solidarity and distinctiveness of a group. "The distinctive interaction rituals (IRs) of intellectuals are those occasions on which intellectuals come together for the sake of their serious talk: not to socialize, nor to be practical" (p. 27). Collins notes that, in taking this position, he is implicitly rejecting a rival view that sees the solitary activity of reading and writing as the distinguishing marks of intellectual activity. Although he sees lectures and texts as "chained together," a fact contributing to the distinctiveness of the intellectual community compared to "any other kind of social activity" (p. 27), he argues that "without face-to-face rituals, writings and ideas would never be charged up with emotional energy; they would be Durkheimian emblems of a dead religion, whose worshippers never came to ceremonies" (p. 27).

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