Karl Mannheim's contributions to the development of the sociology of knowledge

Abstract

Karl Mannheim's work in the area of Sociology of Knowledge is generally considered to be his greatest contribution to sociological research. In his writings on the subject, the Hungarian theorist posits that a sociology of knowledge is possible and that there exists a relationship between forms of knowledge and social structure. His major contention in this respect is that ideas relating to definitions of social reality are existentially-determined. In this paper, I shall attempt to provide an exposition of Mannheim's ideas regarding the existential determination of knowledge, taking into account: (a) the various schools of thought and social factors which influenced his thinking; (b) his interpretation of the concepts of ideology and utopia; (c) the way he sought to grapple with such pertinent issues as the validity or otherwise of existentially- determined knowledge; (d) his attempts at preventing his theory from lapsing into relativistic nihilism, and finally, (e) the various criticisms levelled at his work on the Sociology of Knowledge.