The problem of other lives: social perspectives on written biography

The study of biography as an exercise in sociology has been under-used. The early proponents of a sociology of biography—most notably Wilhelm Dilthey—have not had their work greatly developed. However, with the emergence of Paul Ricoeur's work on the nature of narrativity, time and interpretation, plus the developing influence of the work of others, a hermeneutics of biography has now begun. This paper explores this development, and, further, briefly examines two highly important biographies to explore how theoretical injunction is matched by empirical practice