Karl Mannheim (1893-1947) was a Hungarian sociologist and philosopher best known for his contributions to the sociology of knowledge. Lloyd Spencer said,
"Of all the classical sociologists, Mannheim is the one whose biography and mode of questioning connects him most directly to the problems of our own time... the questions he posed in the diagnosis of conflict, on the role of the intelligentsia, on education and on democratic planning remain as pertinent as ever." (Quoted in The A-Z Guide to Modern Social and Political Theorists by Noel Parker and Stuart Sim)The rest of this post is some quotes form Mannheim.
Analysis of arguments
"As long as one does not call his own position into question but regards it as absolute, while interpreting his opponents' ideas as a mere function of the social positions they occupy, the decisive step forward has not yet been taken." (Ideology and Utopia, 1929)
"In attempting to expose the views of another, one is forced to make one's own view appear infallible and absolute, which is a procedure altogether to be avoided if one is making a specifically non-evaluative investigation." (Ideology and Utopia, 1929)
"Conflicting intellectual positions may actually come to supplement one another." (Ideology and Utopia, 1929)
