The Social Sciences as Critical Theory

1990 ◽  
Vol 36 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 1-15
Author(s):  
Everton Pryce
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Critical Theory ◽  
The Social

The Politics of Global Health Inequalities

2019 ◽  
pp. 58-84
Author(s):  
Yusra Ribhi Shawar ◽  
Jennifer Prah Ruger
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Critical Theory ◽  
Global Health ◽  
Health Inequalities ◽  
Health Inequality ◽  
The Political ◽  
State Of Health ◽  
Political Determinants ◽  
The Social

Careful investigations of the political determinants of health that include the role of power in health inequalities—systematic differences in health achievements among different population groups—are increasing but remain inadequate. Historically, much of the research examining health inequalities has been influenced by biomedical perspectives and focused, as such, on ‘downstream’ factors. More recently, there has been greater recognition of more ‘distal’ and ‘upstream’ drivers of health inequalities, including the impacts of power as expressed by actors, as well as embedded in societal structures, institutions, and processes. The goal of this chapter is to examine how power has been conceptualised and analysed to date in relation to health inequalities. After reviewing the state of health inequality scholarship and the emerging interest in studying power in global health, the chapter presents varied conceptualisations of power and how they are used in the literature to understand health inequalities. The chapter highlights the particular disciplinary influences in studying power across the social sciences, including anthropology, political science, and sociology, as well as cross-cutting perspectives such as critical theory and health capability. It concludes by highlighting strengths and limitations of the existing research in this area and discussing power conceptualisations and frameworks that so far have been underused in health inequalities research. This includes potential areas for future inquiry and approaches that may expand the study of as well as action on addressing health inequality.

scholarly journals On critical hope and the anthropos of non-anthropocentric discourses. Some thoughts on archaeology in the Anthropocene

2021 ◽  
Vol 28 (2) ◽  
pp. 163-170
Author(s):  
Piraye Hacıgüzeller
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Critical Theory ◽  
Public Discourse ◽  
Frankfurt School ◽  
Human Relations ◽  
The Public ◽  
Social Sciences And Humanities ◽  
The Social ◽  
Critical Hope

AbstractIn this essay I scrutinize the non-anthropocentric discourses used by the social sciences and humanities narratives and critiques of the Anthropocene. Although not always predominant within the academic Anthropocene debate, such discursive strands remain politically and ethically inspiring and influential in that debate and for the public discourse concerning the epoch. I stress that these discourses inherit the hope for human progress that characterizes critical theory of the Frankfurt school, i.e. ‘critical hope’, a type of hope that renders the non-anthropocentric discourses self-contradictory. Even when they manage to escape the hold of critical hope, these discourses, I argue, suffer from ethical and political failings due to their inherent lack of focus on human–human relations and largely ahistorical nature. I conclude the essay by advocating an Anthropocene archaeology that remains critical of and learns from the ethical and political shortcomings of non-anthropocentric perspectives and making a related call for a slow archaeology of the Anthropocene.

scholarly journals Characterising social pathologies: an analytic grid

2019 ◽  
Vol 28 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fabian Freyenhagen
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Political Philosophy ◽  
Critical Theory ◽  
Interdisciplinary Approach ◽  
Frankfurt School ◽  
Functional Differentiation ◽  
Social Pathology ◽  
Philosophy Today ◽  
The Social ◽  
In Virtue Of

In this paper, I would like to take up one proposal that I touch on as part of the longer paper delivered at the SPT conference on Critical Theory and the Concept of Social Pathology. The proposal is an analytic grid for characterising social pathologies, particularly in thelight of the conceptualisations of this idea specified within the Frankfurt School CriticalTheory tradition.Let me first summarise briefly the longer paper. I present some general features of the idea of social pathology (see below), and suggest that this idea can set FrankfurtSchool Critical Theory apart from mainstream liberal approaches – notably, in virtue of the specifically ethical register it involves (rather than a justice-based one dominant incontemporary liberalism) and the interdisciplinary approach it calls for (which marks a contrast to the relatively stark division between normative theorising and the social sciences characteristic of much of political philosophy today). I criticise the way Habermas and Honneth transform the early Frankfurt School conceptualisations of this idea by tying itto their respective models of functional differentiation of society.

Secular Theology?

2010 ◽  
Vol 39 (3) ◽  
pp. 63-75 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mike Grimshaw
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Critical Theory ◽  
Secular Theology ◽  
The Social

A response from an antipodean perspective to the discussion on Secular theology conducted in the CSSR Bulletin April-September 2008. The article enages with the essays on secular theology, suggests the use of para- as a prefeix rather than post- for 'post-secular' and further suggests rethinking secular theology as a series of approaches in common with critical theory. It argues for a rethinking of secular theology as a series of approaches perhaps best conducted from the social sciences.

scholarly journals From Critical Theory to Critical Hermeneutics

2014 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Øjvind Larsen
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Critical Theory ◽  
Economic System ◽  
Social Relations ◽  
Frankfurt School ◽  
Theoretical Framework ◽  
Western Society ◽  
Critical Hermeneutics ◽  
Theoretical Perspectives ◽  
The Social

From their beginning in the 1930s, critical theory and the Frankfurt school had their focus on a critique of disturbed social relations in western society dominated by totalitarian political regimes like Stalinism, Fascism, Nazism, and by capitalism as an oppressive and destructive economic system and culture. Now, 80 years later, this has all become history and thus it is time to leave the concept of critical theory behind us, and instead bring the concept of critique to a broader theoretical framework like hermeneutics. This allows the possibility of retaining the theoretical intentions of the old Frankfurt school and at the same time there will be no boundaries by specific dominant theoretical perspectives. In this paper, such a framework for a critical hermeneutics is discussed on the basis of Weber’s, Gadamer’s, and Habermas’ theories on hermeneutics within the social sciences.

scholarly journals PARADIGMA DASAR FENOMENOLOGIS, HERMENEUTIKA DAN TEORI KRITIS

2016 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 5-20
Author(s):  
Wisri Wisri ◽  
Abd. Mughni
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Critical Theory ◽  
The Other ◽  
Valuable Contribution ◽  
Advantages And Disadvantages ◽  
The Social ◽  
The World ◽  
Interpretation System ◽  
To Come ◽  
Holy Book

Attempts to understand reality as it exists in its purity without the need to "intervention" by anything and anyone. Regardless of that advantages and disadvantages, that has provided a valuable contribution to the world of science, overcoming the crisis of methodology, and could become an influential discipline. Phenomenology tries to come near to the object of the study critically and carefully in observation, by not prejudiced with any previous conceptions. Therefore, it is seen as a rigorous science (a tight science) by the phenomenologist. Hermeneutic initially "only" interpret the texts of holy book, in the development becoming more expansive. It spread abroad to the other fields in the social sciences, especially philology, dassein and existential understanding, interpretation, and interpretation system. Finally phenomenology and hermeneutic can be firmly united by Ricoeur. They reputed that they can not be separated and should be accompanied each other. Phenomenology is a basic "irreplaceable" assumption for hermeneutic. On the contrary, hermeneutic is the proponent for phenomenology to running the program well. While the goal of critical theory is to eliminate the various forms of domination and encourage freedom, justice and equality. This theory uses the reflective method by getting constructive critisism to the social administration or institution, politic or economic, which tended to obstructive to the attainment of freedom, justice, and equality.

Normativity and Power

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rainer Forst
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Critical Theory ◽  
Political Life ◽  
Basic Principles ◽  
New Approach ◽  
The Social ◽  
Theories Of Justice ◽  
Normative Order ◽  
Over Time

Humans are justificatory beings—they offer, demand, and require justifications. The rules and institutions we follow rest on narratives that have evolved over time and, taken together, constitute a dynamic and tension-laden normative order. This book presents a new approach to critical theory. Each chapter reflects on the basic principles that guide our normative thinking. The book's argument goes beyond obsolete “ideal” and “realist” theories and shows how closely the concepts of normativity and power are interrelated, and how power rests on the capacity to influence, determine, and possibly restrict the space of justifications for outsiders. By combining insights from the disciplines of philosophy, history, and the social sciences, the book revaluates theories of justice, as well as of power, and provides the tools to conceptualize the “justification narratives” that form the bedrock of our social and political life.

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