謝勒論「知識社會學」，首先把它放在「文化社會學」的背景內作探討。而在「文化社會學」上、尤凸顯其「研究角度」與「研究課題」。「研究角度」方面，計有「存有學基礎」、「社會結構」、及「研究進路」三個考量面向。至於其「研究課題」，則提出了社會的「實際因素」與「理想因素」二者；「實際因素」牽涉「血族」、「政治」、「經濟」等議題；而「理想因素」則涵括社會之「宗教」、「哲學」、「科技」三門知識之探討。謝勒尤在此把「理想因素社會學」等同為「知識社會學」，藉此為它在「文化社會學」的脈絡上定位。

　　　　　Before presenting the main contents of his sociology of knowledge, Scheler first highlights a brieef outline of his sociology of culture as its background. His sociology of culture can be divided into two main parts, namely, the sociology of the real factors, and the sociology of the ideal factors. The former deals with such topics as blood-community, politics, and economics, etc. Whereas, the latter concentrates itself on the three main branches of knowledge-i.e., religion, philosophy, and science. Scheler then equates “the sociology of the ideal factors” with his “sociology of knowledge”. In such a way, he manages to situate his “sociology of knowledge” within the context of his “sociology of culture”.