Abstract
In main research trends of sociology, it has been, even if tacitly, presupposed that social powers work through certain understandings which power-subjects are supposed to have. We can easily find the example of this kind of thinking in Weber's way of definition of social power as very well known already. Indeed Parsons' definition takes aim at functional aspects of resource distribution, but actually the denotation of its concept only covers social power as symbolically generalized which means what is understood by power-subjects in special ways.
The structures of understandings which are overtly or covertly presupposed for power-subjects to have, canalize various kinds of problem orientation concerning social power even if unconsciously, but we can hardly find previous studies that thematize understanding structures of power-subjects.
First, I shall try to delineate general structures of understandings of power-subjects, and give a general definition to the concept of social power, which makes it possible for us to compare and locate almost all the previous definitions upon a plain surface. In this course of thinking, we will find, the concept of power can be treated without being dependent on power-holder's aims, intentions, and even their consciousness, which means that the definition of social power is founded only upon certain experience of power-subjects.
Second, using this definition and problem orientation, I will discuss and relate the traditional themes of social power theory, such as (1) differences between threat and reward, (2) functions of expectation, (3) differences between legitimacy, formality and legality, (4) powers of state, and so forth, then we can find and describe a lot of new aspects concerning these problems.
