Prof. does social and political philosophy. The HIW has 5 research in political philosophy and ethics in Leuven (RIPPLE)
Interested in Critical theory.
Sociology is defined differently by different scholars. Social formation (Marx), functional system (Parsons), pattern of meaningful interaction (Mead), sum of social institution (institutionalism).
Society is a “system of systems”.
What we call society is changing. Marx and Lukacs speak about the “socialization” of society, where a society becomes a society. In feudal times, society was very agrarian. Certain peasants, within their communes and villages a level of autonomy, despite the level of luxury and wealth being (relatively) low. Unlike them, now, most of us are incapable of providing for ourselves fully. We depend on others for everything: the clothes we wear, the food we eat, the tools we use, the knowledge we learn.
In that sense, we modern people live more societally. We are embedded into society much deeper than that peasant or farmer.
This shows that what society means is subject to significant change throughout history.
Sociology disrupts our individualistic, human-centered view of the world.
- Am I a free, conscious individual?
- Or just a product of society? A node in a web of relations of (inter)dependence?
- Sociology “decenters” the individual
Most people find a partner within the same social class. Even if there is a difference, it’s usually the case that the woman is a bit “inferior”. “Love is blind” ←> homogamy.
Sociology takes away the mysticism in things like these.
Individualization is also something that is now imposed upon us by social processes. We have to chose our own profession (unlike the case where being born to an artisan would mean you become an artisan, etc.)
Sociology as an academic discipline
Key question: how is social order possible?
alternatively: what is social crisis/conflict/disruption/…? What is the role of crisis in society?
Sometimes, studying moments of crisis tells you more about society than everyday activity.
Durkheim has tried to unify sociology, but that has never worked. Sociology is a pluralistic and diverse discipline.
In that aspect, sociology is similar to philosophy.
Quantitative vs qualitative approach
Quantitative tries to collect a lot of data and apply statistical analysis
There are, however, a lot of issues you can’t study via simply numbers
Qualitative performs in-depth research with less total samples
Sociology is self-referential -
Sociology is a part of its own object of study: society
Sociology is a social phenomenon:
one can study its social formation, institutionalization, influence, social development
Sociology has a history
Truth is correspondence - if a theory corresponds with the object.
This, however, does not fully work for sociology. Unlike a chemist, for example, they cannot simply observe a substance that is entirely separate from the subject of knowledge (the chemist). The sociologist, instead, is part of society - he is dependent on the subject he studies, and formed by it.
It is a bidirectional relation - the sociologist influences society and society influences them.
Many sociologists find this a normal thing - it is normal for us to ask questions that are dictated by society.
Sociology is a social activity
Sociology emerges in the 19th century and starts flourishing in the 20th century. Why?
Sociology is one of the last major disciplines to emerge. The concept of society itself emerges in early modernity, with civil society being of particular interest. As economy becomes a differentiated domain, separated from politics and religion (“social differentiation”).
Modern society loses the sense of community that the middle ages, for example, had. (Gemeinschaft und Gesellschaft)
As these communities are broken up, as we move to bigger cities where we are anonymous to each other, where we don’t know who makes the bread we eat in the morning, society starts to resemble an abstract, anonymous, cold machine. Relations become calculations, and community is, indeed, lost.
As that observation was made, people start to analyze and study this process and these concepts, hence birthing sociology.
“What is happening in modernity? What has changed in society?”
Modernity leads to the emergence of sociology. Society becomes a problem.
As kings are decapitated and the idea that they are links between god and the social, society becomes a concept to study. Society becomes contingent - rather than having some mandatory, natural order, society becomes something to shape, to improve.
“Liberté, égalité, fraternité”
Some believed that tradition and religion being lost were a horrible thing, and swung directly in counterphase to the sociologists.
Karl Marx, Emile Durkheim, Max Weber were the 3 founding fathers of sociology. They produced conceptual frameworks, methodological frameworks, and substantive theories which remain unrivalled and are of lasting relevance.