In a critical, comparative study of the sociological literature, this book explores the term "time," and the various interconnections between time and a broad cluster of topics that create a conceptual labyrinth. Various understandings of time manifest themselves in the context of many individual social problems-there is no single vision in sociology of how to grasp time and address within social theory. This book, therefore, attempts to define an approach to the concept of time and its associated terms (duration, temporality, acceleration, compression, temporal structures, change, historical consciousness, and others). The volume is guided by a critical engagement with three main questions: a) the formation of human understanding of time; b) the functioning of temporal structures at different levels of social reality; c) the role and place of time in general sociological theory.

Jirí subrt is Senior Lecturer in Sociology at Charles University in Czechia. He is the author and editor of several books which mainly deal with the theme of contemporary sociological theory, particularly with regard to issues of action, structure, social systems and social change. His latest books in English are: The Perspective of Historical Sociology (2017), Individualism, Holism and Central Idea of Sociological Theory (2019), The Systemic Approach in Sociology and Niklas Luhmann (2020), Explaining Social Processes (2020).

Chapter 1. The development of human ideas of time

Chapter 2. Different approaches to time in the history of sociological thinking

Chapter 3. The role of time in contemporary sociological theory