By Frédéric Vandenberghe
A Philosophical historical past of German Sociology provides a scientific reconstruction of serious thought, from the founding fathers of sociology (Marx, Simmel, Weber) through Lukács to the Frankfurt tuition (Horkheimer, Adorno, Habermas). via a close research of the theories of alienation, rationalisation and reification, it investigates the metatheoretical presuppositions of a severe idea of the current that not just highlights the truth of domination, yet can be in a position to spotlight the probabilities of emancipation.
Although no longer written as a textbook, its transparent and cogent advent to a couple of the most theories of sociology make this ebook a worthwhile source for undergraduates and postgraduates alike. the next in-depth research of theories of alienation and reification provide crucial fabric for any critique of the dehumanizing traits of today’s worldwide world.
Recently translated into English from the unique French for the 1st time, this article showcases Vandenberghe's mastery of the German, French and English faculties of sociology research. the result's a huge and demanding textual content that's crucial interpreting for sociology scholars of all degrees.
Frédéric Vandenberghe is a Sociology professor and researcher at Iuperj (Instituto Universitário de Pesquisas do Rio de Janeiro), Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. His writings on a huge variety of sociological issues were released as books and articles all over the world.
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Additional info for A Philosophical History of German Sociology (Routledge Studies in Critical Realism)
Example text
Whether they are attributed to the actor’s innate or acquired dispositions (the behaviorist variant of utilitarianism) or to a function of his knowledge of the situation (the rationalist variant of utilitarianism), in either case the freedom of decision, which Parsons views as the kernel of freedom of action, is eliminated and human actions are reduced to exo-determined behavior that adapts to the surrounding environment: “Then action becomes determined entirely by its conditions, for without the independence of ends the distinction between conditions and means becomes meaningless.
Marx posits that workers are alienated from labor, from the product of labor, from other workers, and from themselves. Furthermore, because they are alienated from society, action, and themselves, they can no longer express their being through action, nor can they transform society with consciousness and will. When workers are subjected to society, transformatory praxis becomes the practice of reproducing society as a context of domination that imposes external constraints on actors. In this way, alienation halts the dialectic between agency and society.
Furthermore, because they are alienated from society, action, and themselves, they can no longer express their being through action, nor can they transform society with consciousness and will. When workers are subjected to society, transformatory praxis becomes the practice of reproducing society as a context of domination that imposes external constraints on actors. In this way, alienation halts the dialectic between agency and society. As a realist theory of the causes of reification, Marxism seeks to reactivate the dialectic, to move beyond alienation by revealing the structural constraints that weigh on action and that transform actors into mere agents of the structure, thus impeding a conscious transformation of alienated society into a just and free society, without exploitation.