title: Florian Znaniecki: creative evolution of a sociologist.
abstract: Znaniecki devoted his creative life to a constant reexamination of the basic problems of sociology: its subject matter and that methodology through which it can be studied. The developments in his thought can be traced with the help of the prefaces to his books, in which he explains the location of that work in his over-all effort to develop a systematic sociology, the major influences on his thought and his arguments with other theories. Starting as a philosopher with a special interest in the evolution of values, he spent years as a result of Thomas's influence attempting to find a psychological base for human behavior, finally abandoning the attempt in favor of systems of social interaction. He focused on four such systems: social relation, social role, social groups, and societies.
mesh_terms: D003405:Creativity; D049673:History, 20th Century; D012961:Sociology / Q000266:history*; D014481:United States