The Dynamics of Time and Space in Sociological Theory
To date, there has been much emphasis on, and critical inquiry into, the variety of ways sociological theories examine social life, social organization, and human conduct within and between the past and present time horizons. Under the auspice that no authentic anticipation of what we may 'have to be' (future) is possible without borrowing from the resources of what we already 'have been' (past) and 'currently are' (present), sociological inquiry has been primarily focused on the relationship of an experiencing person (or persons) within the complexities of past events and present circumstances as a means to reveal insights toward the future of social organization. The reasons for this focus on investigations into past and present time horizons are because they are facilitated by the presence of an observable and material reality consisting of identifiable documents and tangible objects that can be identified, observed, interpreted and measured. Whereas, investigations into the future are working within a different reality status all together, one that does not contain identifiable material and empirically accessible facts, thus making it much more difficult to study in that it is focused on a reality that does not yet exist. Given that only materialized processes of the past and present have the status of factual reality (what is real is observable), conclusions and predictions about future events, which are essentially beyond the realm of the material and observable, remain at the level of the senses, as an aspect of the mind, and are seen as belonging to the realm of the 'ideal' and the 'not the real'. This paper walks through these considerations in detail and examines how a focus on time and space can help us better understand the ways in which social beings act.