FROM SOCIAL-THEORY TO SOCIOLOGY OF KNOWLEDGE AND BACK - KARL MANNHEIMAND THE SOCIOLOGY OF INTELLECTUAL KNOWLEDGE PRODUCTION

This paper proposes a reconsideration of Karl Mannheim and his work fr om the viewpoint of the needs of sociological theory. It points out ce rtain affinities between Mannheim and some contemporary theorists, suc h as Gramsci and Foucault, and then reflects on certain problems in Ma nnheim's work, particularly the response to ''relativism'' and the hop e of creating new ''syntheses'' through the sociology of knowledge. Fi nally, it proposes ways to draw on the sociology of intellectuals, ins pired by Mannheim, in order to advance the understanding of social the ory.