Charles Horton Cooley was one of the first generation of American
sociologists, but differed from most of his
peers. This
paper explains that, whereas most were reformists, often inspired by religion, Cooley was more artistic and romantic. It discusses how his
peers were aiming to make sociology a rigorously objective (positivist) science. In contrast, Cooley was an idealist, more concerned with introspection and imagination, one of the earliest of humanistic
sociologists.