Dan Silver
@dsilver432.bsky.social
Designing experiments in classical social theory III. Welcome to the hidden abode of production.
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open.substack.com/pub/thesilve...
LLMs as tools for experiments in Classical Sociological Theory III
Follow me into the hidden abode of production
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November 10, 2025 at 2:09 PM
Designing experiments in classical social theory III. Welcome to the hidden abode of production.
open.substack.com/pub/thesilve...
open.substack.com/pub/thesilve...
An essay on the creativity of social conflict, from 1950s PTA meetings to 21st century social media flame wars.
open.substack.com/pub/thesilve...
open.substack.com/pub/thesilve...
How neighbors become enemies and every fight becomes about everything
The creativity of conflict, from PTA meetings to online pile-ons
open.substack.com
November 3, 2025 at 1:58 PM
An essay on the creativity of social conflict, from 1950s PTA meetings to 21st century social media flame wars.
open.substack.com/pub/thesilve...
open.substack.com/pub/thesilve...
Populism: a sociological perspective
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This piece tries to bring a sociological perspective to the discussion of populism, building on Heath’s provocative essay and Dan Williams’ critical notes on grounding a theory of populism in dual process psychology.
open.substack.com/pub/thesilve...
This piece tries to bring a sociological perspective to the discussion of populism, building on Heath’s provocative essay and Dan Williams’ critical notes on grounding a theory of populism in dual process psychology.
Populism in the city: the case of Ford Nation
The populist script joins vertical and horizontal dimensions; the revolt against rationalism is against a form of social organization as much as of cognition. The case of Rob Ford illustrates.
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October 27, 2025 at 1:03 PM
Populism: a sociological perspective
open.substack.com/pub/thesilve...
This piece tries to bring a sociological perspective to the discussion of populism, building on Heath’s provocative essay and Dan Williams’ critical notes on grounding a theory of populism in dual process psychology.
open.substack.com/pub/thesilve...
This piece tries to bring a sociological perspective to the discussion of populism, building on Heath’s provocative essay and Dan Williams’ critical notes on grounding a theory of populism in dual process psychology.
Reposted by Dan Silver
True science is distinctively the study of useless things. For the useful things will get studied without the aid of scientific men.
October 25, 2025 at 6:59 PM
True science is distinctively the study of useless things. For the useful things will get studied without the aid of scientific men.
What would Plato Do? On LLMs, writing, and thinking.
#Sociology #AI
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#Sociology #AI
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What would Plato do?
Plato met writing with invention, not despair or anger. We may need to do the same for the essay.
open.substack.com
October 21, 2025 at 1:12 PM
What would Plato Do? On LLMs, writing, and thinking.
#Sociology #AI
open.substack.com/pub/thesilve...
#Sociology #AI
open.substack.com/pub/thesilve...
What does it mean to kick away the ladder of reference?
On cultural vs social theories of LLMs. Saussure vs Peirce and Wittgenstein.
Social Theory ftw!
A critical response to Weatherby’s Language Machines.
open.substack.com/pub/thesilve...
#Sociology #AI #LLM
On cultural vs social theories of LLMs. Saussure vs Peirce and Wittgenstein.
Social Theory ftw!
A critical response to Weatherby’s Language Machines.
open.substack.com/pub/thesilve...
#Sociology #AI #LLM
Kicking away the ladder of reference
From cultural structure to social judgment. On Leif Weatherby's Language Machines.
open.substack.com
October 20, 2025 at 12:58 PM
What does it mean to kick away the ladder of reference?
On cultural vs social theories of LLMs. Saussure vs Peirce and Wittgenstein.
Social Theory ftw!
A critical response to Weatherby’s Language Machines.
open.substack.com/pub/thesilve...
#Sociology #AI #LLM
On cultural vs social theories of LLMs. Saussure vs Peirce and Wittgenstein.
Social Theory ftw!
A critical response to Weatherby’s Language Machines.
open.substack.com/pub/thesilve...
#Sociology #AI #LLM
Teaching classical sociological theory at the twilight of the Age of the Essay and the dawn of the Age of AI
open.substack.com/pub/thesilve...
open.substack.com/pub/thesilve...
LLMs as tools for experiments in classical sociological theory II
The introduction of class
open.substack.com
October 14, 2025 at 12:54 PM
Teaching classical sociological theory at the twilight of the Age of the Essay and the dawn of the Age of AI
open.substack.com/pub/thesilve...
open.substack.com/pub/thesilve...
Update on a continuing series about using a multi agent LLM platform to teach classical sociological theory in a new way. #sociology #AI #LLMs
In this episode, we introduce class into a market order and observe the results.
open.substack.com/pub/thesilve...
In this episode, we introduce class into a market order and observe the results.
open.substack.com/pub/thesilve...
LLMs as tools for experiments in classical sociological theory II
The introduction of class
open.substack.com
October 13, 2025 at 1:17 PM
Update on a continuing series about using a multi agent LLM platform to teach classical sociological theory in a new way. #sociology #AI #LLMs
In this episode, we introduce class into a market order and observe the results.
open.substack.com/pub/thesilve...
In this episode, we introduce class into a market order and observe the results.
open.substack.com/pub/thesilve...
Cultural cartography in sociology, literary studies, and LLMs. Plus a bit of sociology of the sociology of culture. On coding , counting, and reading, and the possibility of something else.
open.substack.com/pub/thesilve...
open.substack.com/pub/thesilve...
Between Interpretation and the Machines
Cultural cartography across literary studies, sociology, and LLMs
open.substack.com
October 6, 2025 at 10:06 PM
Cultural cartography in sociology, literary studies, and LLMs. Plus a bit of sociology of the sociology of culture. On coding , counting, and reading, and the possibility of something else.
open.substack.com/pub/thesilve...
open.substack.com/pub/thesilve...
One fun thing about spending a little time on Substack is that you glimpse how other disciplines wrestle with foundational issues.
thesilverlining3.substack.com/p/between-in...
thesilverlining3.substack.com/p/between-in...
Between Interpretation and the Machines
Cultural cartography across literary studies, sociology, and LLMs
thesilverlining3.substack.com
October 6, 2025 at 1:01 PM
One fun thing about spending a little time on Substack is that you glimpse how other disciplines wrestle with foundational issues.
thesilverlining3.substack.com/p/between-in...
thesilverlining3.substack.com/p/between-in...
In sociology, we don’t get monumental works of social theory by leading social theorists very often these days. So when we do, it is worth paying attention. In this post, I offer a critical analysis of John Levi Martin’s The True, the Good, and the Beautiful.
open.substack.com/pub/thesilve...
open.substack.com/pub/thesilve...
Comments on The True, The Good, and The Beautiful
Notes on John Levi Martin's Genealogy of Social Thought
open.substack.com
September 29, 2025 at 2:45 PM
In sociology, we don’t get monumental works of social theory by leading social theorists very often these days. So when we do, it is worth paying attention. In this post, I offer a critical analysis of John Levi Martin’s The True, the Good, and the Beautiful.
open.substack.com/pub/thesilve...
open.substack.com/pub/thesilve...
Psyched and grateful that @thepointmag.bsky.social published my essay on reading Houellebecq through the lens of theatricality and absorption from Michael Fried.
Check it out there thepointmag.com/criticism/a-...
Check it out there thepointmag.com/criticism/a-...
A Different Annihilation | The Point Magazine
The first novel I read by Michel Houellebecq was Elementary Particles, probably in 1999. I read it in German translation, toward the end of a year […]
thepointmag.com
September 22, 2025 at 9:55 PM
Psyched and grateful that @thepointmag.bsky.social published my essay on reading Houellebecq through the lens of theatricality and absorption from Michael Fried.
Check it out there thepointmag.com/criticism/a-...
Check it out there thepointmag.com/criticism/a-...
Check out a summary and backstory to a new special issue on Theory Visualization in Social Sciences. #sociology
thesilverlining3.substack.com/p/theory-vis...
thesilverlining3.substack.com/p/theory-vis...
Theory Visualization in the Social Sciences
Check out our special issue on the topic!
thesilverlining3.substack.com
September 22, 2025 at 9:49 PM
Check out a summary and backstory to a new special issue on Theory Visualization in Social Sciences. #sociology
thesilverlining3.substack.com/p/theory-vis...
thesilverlining3.substack.com/p/theory-vis...
Introducing a special issue I recently co-edited on Theory Visualization in #Sociology
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www.researchgate.net/publication/...
substack.com/home/post/p-...
www.researchgate.net/publication/...
Theory Visualization in the Social Sciences
Check out our special issue on the topic!
open.substack.com
September 22, 2025 at 5:57 PM
Introducing a special issue I recently co-edited on Theory Visualization in #Sociology
substack.com/home/post/p-...
www.researchgate.net/publication/...
substack.com/home/post/p-...
www.researchgate.net/publication/...
The “attention economy” is the equivalent of reducing modern capitalism to what Weber called “adventure capitalism.”
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open.substack.com/pub/thesilve...
Influencer Ben
Notes on the ethic and spirit of social capitalism
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September 10, 2025 at 12:26 PM
The “attention economy” is the equivalent of reducing modern capitalism to what Weber called “adventure capitalism.”
open.substack.com/pub/thesilve...
open.substack.com/pub/thesilve...
Notes on the ethic and spirit of social capitalism, from Benjamin Franklin to Influencer Ben . Stay grounded , King.
#sociology
open.substack.com/pub/thesilve...
#sociology
open.substack.com/pub/thesilve...
Influencer Ben
Notes on the ethic and spirit of social capitalism
open.substack.com
September 9, 2025 at 2:32 PM
Notes on the ethic and spirit of social capitalism, from Benjamin Franklin to Influencer Ben . Stay grounded , King.
#sociology
open.substack.com/pub/thesilve...
#sociology
open.substack.com/pub/thesilve...
How to use LLMs as a device for teaching social theorizing as a living practice? Here’s an experiment in that direction. If the Age of the Essay is over, we need to a lot of experimentation with novel alternatives.
open.substack.com/pub/thesilve...
open.substack.com/pub/thesilve...
LLMs as Tools for Experiments in Classical Sociological Theory
A new approach to teaching an old course
open.substack.com
September 2, 2025 at 11:47 AM
How to use LLMs as a device for teaching social theorizing as a living practice? Here’s an experiment in that direction. If the Age of the Essay is over, we need to a lot of experimentation with novel alternatives.
open.substack.com/pub/thesilve...
open.substack.com/pub/thesilve...
Sociologists often debate how to teach classical theory.
This year I’m trying something new: we are using a multi agent AI platform to represent classical theories, experiment with their assumptions, and observe the results.
#sociology #AI
open.substack.com/pub/thesilve...
This year I’m trying something new: we are using a multi agent AI platform to represent classical theories, experiment with their assumptions, and observe the results.
#sociology #AI
open.substack.com/pub/thesilve...
LLMs as Tools for Experiments in Classical Sociological Theory
A new approach to teaching an old course
open.substack.com
September 1, 2025 at 1:13 PM
Sociologists often debate how to teach classical theory.
This year I’m trying something new: we are using a multi agent AI platform to represent classical theories, experiment with their assumptions, and observe the results.
#sociology #AI
open.substack.com/pub/thesilve...
This year I’m trying something new: we are using a multi agent AI platform to represent classical theories, experiment with their assumptions, and observe the results.
#sociology #AI
open.substack.com/pub/thesilve...
Theatricality is a classic concept in sociological theory, in which actors modify their self-presentation in response to the views of others. It is also a driver of artistic creativity, operating in a dialectical relationship with absorption.
August 26, 2025 at 2:20 PM
Theatricality is a classic concept in sociological theory, in which actors modify their self-presentation in response to the views of others. It is also a driver of artistic creativity, operating in a dialectical relationship with absorption.