Winner of the 2020 British Sociological Association Philip Abrams PrizeProviding a theory of moral practice for a contemporary sociological audience, Owen Abbott shows that morality is a relational practice achieved by people in their everyday lives. He moves beyond old dualisms¿society versus the individual, social structure versus agency, body versus mind¿to offer a sociologically rigorous and coherent theory of the relational constitution of the self and moral practice, which is both shared and yet enacted from an individualized perspective. In so doing, The Self, Relational Sociology, and Morality in Practice not only offers an urgently needed account of moral practice and its integral role in the emergence of the self, but also examines morality itself within and through social relations and practices. Abbott¿s conclusions will be of interest to social scientists and philosophers of morality, those working with pragmatic and interactionist approaches, and those involved with relational sociology and social theory.

Provides the first in-depth account of morality as a relational practice

1. Introduction: A Relational Sociology of Morality in Practice.- 2. An Overview of Relational Sociology.- 3. From Rationalism to Practices, Dispositions and Situated Subjectivities.- 4. From Holism and Individualism to a Relational Perspective on the Sociology of Morality.- 5. The New Sociology of Morality and Morality in Practice.- 6. The Self and a Relational Explanation of Morality in Practice.- 7. Conclusion - A Relational View of Moral Phenomena.