Studies in Sociology: Symbols, Theory and Society – serie

The volume is the first one in the series Studies in Sociology: Symbols, Theory and Society. The authors from Australia, Finland, Germany, Poland, the United Kingdom and the United States of America, who contributed to it, are sociologists bound by a conviction that the study of the social context of making use of symbols cannot be underestimated. Conception of symbolism as a social phenomenon and not an autonomous semiotic system is of their common interest and a symbolic interactionist perspective is apparent in many texts. The readiness to trespass the boundaries of various approaches and disciplines is noticeable. The volume is divided into three parts: Symbols and Society. Theoretical Perspectives; Political Discourse and Symbolic Action; Religious Symbolism and Power. Symbolism of discourses, symbolic objects and symbolic actions are three intrinsically related domains that were studied.

Action theory, phenomenological sociology, pragmatism and (post)structuralism are often seen as mutually exclusive currents of meaning analysis. This book shows that these traditions are actually complementary, and builds a neostructuralist synthesis on this finding. It also outlines the implications of this cultural theoretical synthesis for the field of social theory. What emerges is a variant of the theory of practice, habit and structuration of society. It shares the contemporary common belief that social theory should be based on cultural theory. Its distinctive mark is that this is done in systematic semiotic terms within a conception which provides mediation between the two most influential schools of semiotics, namely Charles Peirce’s American pragmatism and Ferdinand de Saussure’s French structuralism.

If the new cultural sociology is to gain firm grounds, it should rediscover the classic studies on cultural dynamics and cultural systems. This book contributes to a better understanding of Florian Znaniecki as an eminent culturologist and the lasting relevance of his theory of cultural becoming. Znaniecki opted for a humanistic approach that he called culturalism. Culturalism, founded on the principle of the humanistic coefficient, is applied also to the cultural person. The concept of social values makes this cultural approach an original one. The cultural logic and cultural ethos of Znaniecki’s thought is inherent in the very principle of a creative evolution of culture, augmenting his vision of a new civilization of the future and a world culture society.

Pragmatism has experienced a renaissance in social theory in recent years. This is no wonder since the so-called classical pragmatists, especially John Dewey and George Herbert Mead, outlined a highly original theory of social life. This book builds on pragmatist ideas and argues that social structures are first and foremost based on habitualized action. Thus, the insights of Dewey and Mead have profound implications for the way in which we think about many of the fundamental issues in social theory. These insights are discussed, for example, in relation to contemporary debates on the nature of intersubjectivity, institutions, the public and Pierre Bourdieu’s concept of habitus. The book shows that pragmatism offers a naturalist, action-centered way of conceptualizing culture and social structures.

This volume commemorates Richard H. Grathoff’s (1934–2013) contribution to interpretative sociology. Reconsidering the legacy of social phenomenology, it demonstrates the usefulness of concepts such as life-world, milieu and symbolic transcendence in the studies of sociocultural transformations.

Relational sociology draws attention to non-utilitarian aspects of sociality that reach beyond instrumental rationality, and presents the problem of relational reason. Shaping a civil society under cultural plurality requires reflection upon relational rationality. This book focuses on relational goods as an emergent effect of social relations, focusing on the issue of good life and the Good Society.The relational approach involves viewing social relations neither as an expression of the system nor as an individual action, but as a human reality in its own right, based on reciprocity.The authors explore the moral dimensions of sociality in various areas of social life. The aim is to enrich the understanding of relationality and of the significance of the relational theory of society.

Politics of symbolization affects the semantics of identities and power relations between various subjects, and encompasses the changing meanings of social spaces, times, historical narratives, as well as modalities of collective memory. The volume focuses on politics of symbolization across Central and Eastern Europe understood as complex spaces of semiosis that are rife with similarities and differences. Politics of symbolization consists of various strategies of referring to past collective experiences from the perspective of projected visions and representations of the future. The European Union and its politics of symbolization is relevant in this respect. The volume facilitates understanding of the problems associated with politics of symbolization in Central and Eastern Europe.

Strongly affected by modern history and facing dilemmas of modernity, Central and Eastern Europe has been healing fresh wounds for the past 30 years. The present volume analyzes the contemporary challenges related to the heritage of 1989. The peaceful revolution brought substantial socio-cultural, institutional and strategic transformations, setting a long-term course for Central and Eastern European policymaking. Recently, however, these legacies, namely the geopolitical aspects of the transformation, the policies of collective memory, and even intrasocietal issues, have been questioned more than ever. It seems the region is approaching the end of a revolutionary cycle of transition. This volume tries to investigate this phenomenon as it unfolds.

The book addresses the theme of the advent of a ‘Matrix Land’ as a pervasive environment of digital (virtual) reality in which humanity is destined to live increasingly distant from its original natural condition. The challenge posed by the Matrix Land is that of a future society in which lifeworlds and social relations lose the classic notions of time and space. Time and space become illusions and come to depend on algorithms. Virtual reality will prevail over human nature, so much so that human beings will think that what previously appeared real to them was instead pure imagination if not an illusion. Digital logic will replace analog thinking. What will remain of the human? According to the Author, the underlying sociological problem is not whether or not it will be possible to build AI and robots capable of emulating the human mind in whole or in large part. The sociological question is how new technologies change human life to the extent that, by modifying knowledge and communication, they modify people’s relational life, social forms and therefore the entire society. The technologies that lead humanity towards the post/transhuman must be analyzed and evaluated based on the criteria of which human relationships they assume and which they produce. We need to see whether they support solutions that increase the ethical and empathetic sense of social relationships or, vice versa, fuel relationships devoid of human meaning.

The approach of Symbolic Interaction (SI) which Herbert Blumer called «Symbolic Interactionism», is regarded as a modern version of the sociology of Verstehen, originally outlined by Georg Simmel and Max Weber. This book is divided into four chapters. In the first the relevant philosophical sources are indicated, particularly those relating to Georg Simmel. The second chapter examines the basic principles of Verstehen and the construction of ideal types. In the third chapter an account is given of the intellectual background of SI, with an introduction to the main proponents involved in its inception: Charles Horton Cooley, William Isaac Thomas, and George Herbert Mead. The fourth chapter discusses the writings of Herbert Blumer, Anselm Strauss, Tamotsu Shibutani and Erving Goffman. Transcriptions of tape recordings of important statements by Shibutani and by Goffman are included to assure authenticity on critical issues.

About a decade ago, an antagonistic debate on the ‘science war’ arose on both sides of the Atlantic. At issue was how far the social sciences could intervene in disentangling the practice of science. The debate has now calmed down, but has by no means been solved. As a continuation of the antagonism that once haunted the advocates of Karl Popper against those of Thomas Kuhn, versions of this animated debate are likely to arise again. In this light, the theory of inquiry once launched by Charles S. Peirce may prove valuable. Despite early efforts by, amongst others, Karl-Otto Apel and Jürgen Habermas, Peirce’s theory of inquiry remains largely unknown in the social sciences. It is the aim of this publication – the bulk of which was written long ago as a doctoral thesis – to place Peirce’s theory of inquiry in the centre of social science theory.