Pragmatic Sociology

Just published: Special Issue on ‘Pragmatic Sociology: Theory, Critique, and Application’ (guest editor: Paul Blokker), European Journal of Social Theory 14(2).

by Paul Blokker

This special issue of the European Journal of Social Theory engages with a research programme – the ‘sociology of... more This special issue of the European Journal of Social Theory engages with a research programme – the ‘sociology of critical capacity’ or, in short, ‘pragmatic sociology’ – that is now increasingly gaining attention and popularity, as well as meeting critique, beyond its original academic context, France. One of the main aims of this approach is to reintroduce a moral-political dimension into sociological research. As argued by one of its
main proponents, Luc Boltanski, '[a] moral sociology should be understood as the attempt to reinsert, in the analysis of the
action of persons in society, the reasons for acting and the moral exigencies that these persons give themselves, or want to give themselves, if not by way of ‘ideals’ '. (Boltanski, 2005: 20)3
Inmanyways, pragmatic sociology can be understood as an attempt at a renewal of the social sciences, not least in its reassessment of the relationship between theoretical knowledge as elaborated by the social scientist and the forms of theoretical knowledge implicated in social practice (cf.Dodier, 1993; Wagner, 1999: 342). As argued by another of themain contributors to the pragmatic approach, LaurentThe´venot, ‘Our concern is to contribute to the development of a science of social life, which does not suffer fromthis ‘‘de´doublement’’, [that is], the splitting in two of the author, between the profession of naturalist researcher of society and that of political and moral philosopher’ (The´venot, 2009: 39)...

Symmetrical Twins. On the Relationship Between Actor-Network-Theory and the Sociology of Critical Capacities.

by Michael Guggenheim

The Distribution of Hypersensitivity The Sudden Appearance of People with Electrical Hypersensitivity in the Public Space

by Josquin Debaz

Symmetrical twins. On the relationship between ANT and the sociology of critical capacities <2012>

by Joerg Potthast

European Journal of Social Theory 15, 2, 157-178

together with Michael Guggenheim

This article explores the elective affinities between Actor-Network-Theory and the sociology of critical capacities.... more This article explores the elective affinities between Actor-Network-Theory and the sociology of critical capacities. It argues that these two research programs can be understood as symmetrical twins. We show the extent to which the exchange between Bruno Latour and Luc Boltanski has influenced their respective theoretical developments. Three strong encounters between the twin research programs may be distinguished. The first encounter concerns explanations for social change. The second encounter focuses on the status of objects and their relationship to place. The third encounter is about the concept of critique. Drawing on their long-term mutual readings, we gain insight into how pleas for symmetrical analysis raised in response to Bourdieu’s theory of fields have evolved within both ANT and the sociology of critical capacity. We conclude by relating the development of the respective research programs to the issue of disciplinary boundaries.

Soziologie der ausbleibenden Kritik <2011>

by Joerg Potthast

Mittelweg 36, 20/2, 32-49

Contrasting a »sociology of critical capacity« with »critical sociology« has at times meant that the former approach... more Contrasting a »sociology of critical capacity« with »critical sociology« has at times meant that the former approach has been cut off from its pragmatic roots. Most notably, pragmatic sociology regards everyday forms of moral indignation and political discourse as a continuum and perceives critique as situated in practice. To further our understanding of these distinctions, this contribution reconsiders a contrasting study by François Dubet. While explicitly adopting a point of view rooted in the sociology of critique, Injustice at Work leaves out crucial elements of the pragmatic research program. On the other hand, it scrutinizes ways of criticizing that do not result in a test of worth and thus remain below the threshold of passing judgment. These findings confirm once again that the orders-of-worth model presented by Boltanski and Thévenot should be elaborated and extended.