Toward A Concept-Driven Sociology

This chapter argues for a Concept-Driven sociology. Concept-Driven research defies the seemingly binary choice conventionally made between the acts of “describing” (as in inductive empiricism) and “explaining” (as in deductive positivism), instead highlighting the acts of identifying patterns and analyzing, which are neither descriptive nor explanatory but, rather, analytical. When conducting such research, one’s goal is indeed identifying and analyzing socially-patterned phenomena in an effort to reveal their fundamental features. Such intellectual endeavor can be called social pattern analysis. As one might expect, in Concept-Driven scholarship, concepts constitute the metaphorical “lenses” through which researchers access the empirical world, their role defined primarily in terms of attentional sensitization. Ultimately, Concept-Driven sociology presupposes certain cognitive skills that anyone can cultivate. In fact, it involves several such skills — namely focusing, generalizing, “exampling,” and analogizing — that have actually been tacitly utilized by various sociologists yet never explicitly analyzed from a strictly methodological standpoint.

Theory caught up in dialectics: Some reflections on Asger Sørensen’s capitalism, alienation and critique

This paper presents three interconnected examinations of Asger S?rensen?s arguments in Capitalism, Alienation and Critique, which thematize S?rensen?s overarching understanding of the relationship between theory and practice: his general methodological perspective on critical theory, its distinctive epistemology and its anchoring in the empirical world. The paper authors each try to push S?rensen on these crucial points by considering how S?rensen?s variant of critical theory actually operates, scrutinizing in more detail the particular relationship between the ?experience of injustice?, which for S?rensen constitutes the empirical foothold for critical theory, and the theoretical diagnosis of social reality which the critical theorist should formulate against the backdrop of this experience.

The Mood of the World

The phrase, “epistemology of moods,” appears in Stanley Cavell’s writings in the late 1970’s, as The Claim of Reason is published and Cavell begins the direct engagement with Emerson around which his work will pivot for the rest of his career. Indeed, it is as an “epistemologist of moods” that Emerson first appeals to Cavell in his own right, and not as merely a “second-hand Thoreau.” The phrase is an odd one. Most of us would not think that knowledge and mood are connected in the way it suggests: my foul mood may make it difficult for me to concentrate on, say, my taxes, but it does not appear to otherwise affect my ability to know how much or how little I owe—and the same could be said of Sextus’ honey, Descartes’ ball of wax, Price’s tomato, and Clarke’s block of cheese. The oddity of the phrase is, if anything, even more marked when coming from Cavell: though Cavell is deeply interested in questions of self-knowledge, and of our ability to speak for one another and in that sense know one another, he is not an epistemologist; and when he writes of epistemology he often uses phrases like traditional epistemology or classical epistemology that distance him from it. Cavell does not share the traditional epistemologist’s interest in determining what, if anything, might warrant our claims to knowledge of the empirical world or the existence of “other minds”; and “the truth of skepticism” that he announces and explores is not the truth of the claims of the epistemological skeptic regarding such matters. While the epistemologist seeks to assure himself of the certainty of his knowledge, Cavell seeks to understand our disappointment with the knowledge we have. What, then, does Cavell mean by this phrase? What is the epistemology of moods?

The limits of economic theories and models

Aim: This article was written out of a felt need to reflect on the relationship between economic theories and models on the one hand and the empirical world as we experience it on the other. The question is in particular whether it is possible for economic models and theories to say anything definitive about the world we live in. Design/Research methods: The article relies on professional publications, both within the field of economics and outside of it. Conclusions/findings: There is much reason for humility, economic models and theories have hardly anything definitive to say about the empirical world, and there is a need for a more varied menu of theories and models and for a listening ear for the needs and fears of the population at large. The best we can do is discussing competing and conflicting views in a polite way. However, this requires a Sprachethik that looks more and more like an endangered species. Originality/value of the article: Recent developments concerning the reach of economic models and theories are related to earlier discussions and a way forward is sketched

Reconsidering the Contested State in Post-1945 International Relations: An Ontological Approach

Most would agree that the recent emergence of the Donetsk and Lugansk Republics in Ukraine, and perhaps the Islamic State, will soon find their place in the already growing literature on contested states. Yet, despite the historical and present importance of these entities for the study of alternative forms of political authority, sovereignty, statehood, international legitimacy, as well as wars within and between states, there is very little agreement in the existing literature on what constitutes a contested state. After illustrating some of the theoretical and empirical shortcomings of the current conceptual approaches in the treatment of these entities, this article proposes and adopts an ontological approach to conceptualizing and studying contested states in international relations. I argue that the contested state's internal nature can be understood through four constitutive dimensions, which accentuate the phenomenon's distinct interaction with its environment when compared to other phenomena. The article also provides a way to resolve the discord that currently exists on what the theoretical concept of contested state ought to capture empirically, by introducing an explicit and systematic procedure when applying the concept to the empirical world. Cabe esperar que la gran mayoría coincida en que el surgimiento reciente de las repúblicas de Donetsk y Lugansk en Ucrania, y tal vez el Estado Islámico, encontrarán pronto un lugar en la literatura ya creciente sobre estados en disputa. No obstante, a pesar de la importancia histórica y actual de estas entidades para el estudio de formas alternativas de autoridad política, soberanía, estatidad, legitimación internacional, además de las guerras dentro y entre estados, el consenso en la literatura existente sobre qué constituye un estado en disputa es escaso. Tras ilustrar algunas de las limitaciones teóricas y empíricas de los abordajes conceptuales corrientes en el tratamiento de estas entidades, este artículo propone y adopta un abordaje ontológico en la conceptualización y el estudio de estados en disputa en el marco de las relaciones internacionales. Sostengo que la naturaleza interna de un estado en disputa puede comprenderse a través de cuatro dimensiones constitutivas, que acentúan la interacción distintiva de este fenómeno con su entorno cuando se lo compara con otros. Asimismo, este artículo proporciona una manera de resolver el desacuerdo que existe en la actualidad sobre qué debería abarcar en forma empírica el concepto teórico de estado en disputa al presentar un procedimiento explícito y sistemático en la aplicación del concepto al mundo empírico. Une grande majorité de personnes conviendront que l’émergence récente des républiques de Donetsk et de Lougansk en Ukraine, et éventuellement de l’État islamique, trouvera bientôt sa place dans la littérature déjà croissante portant sur les États contestés. Pourtant, malgré l'importance historique et actuelle de ces entités pour l’étude des formes alternatives d'autorité politique, de souveraineté, de statut d’État, de légitimité internationale, ainsi que des guerres intérieures et entre États, il y a très peu de consensus dans la littérature existante sur ce qui constitue un État contesté. Après avoir illustré certaines des lacunes théoriques et empiriques des approches conceptuelles actuelles du traitement de ces entités, cet article propose et adopte une approche ontologique de la conceptualisation et de l’étude des États contestés dans les relations internationales. Je soutiens que la nature interne d'un État contesté peut être comprise au travers de quatre dimensions constitutives qui accentuent l'interaction distincte du phénomène avec son environnement lorsque nous le comparons à d'autres phénomènes. Cet article fournit également un moyen de résoudre la discorde qui règne actuellement sur ce que le concept théorique d’État contesté devrait englober empiriquement, en introduisant une procédure explicite et systématique lors de l'application du concept au monde empirique.

Towards an Abrahamic Religion: Developments in Later Meccan Suras. Part II: Abraham, Local Heritage, and Developments in Liturgy and Ethics

Recent Qur'anic scholarship emphasises a distinction between a Meccan and a Medinan Qur'an. In addition to the doctrinal and literary particularities that set Medinan suras apart, scholars underline the failure of Muḥammad to convert his people and the despair exhibited by his followers in Later Meccan suras. In contrast, the Medinan suras depict a successful, socially and politically engaged leader of a growing and strong religious community. This paper addresses literary and content-related developments in Later Meccan suras and demonstrates that our perceptions of a passive messenger in Mecca and an active leader in Medina, and of the emergence of a self-assured community only in Medina, have to be reconsidered. Later Meccan suras depict a contest over the interpretative dominance of the empirical world which ultimately strengthens the authority of Muḥammad and consolidates the emerging group of Followers. They exhibit intertwined developments of literary strategies such as argumentation patterns or parabolic speech, and intensive reflections on notions such as perception and knowledge. Whereas the first part of this paper examines these processes, the second part focusses on the growing importance of the figure of Abraham, a decisive turn to local heritage and the development of liturgical formulas and ethical norms. The exploration and understanding of these textual dynamics are indispensable for understanding the genesis of both Meccan and Medinan suras.

Towards an Abrahamic Religion: Developments in Later Meccan Suras. Part I: Strategies of Argumentation and Interpretation

Recent Qur'anic scholarship emphasises a distinction between a Meccan and a Medinan Qur'an. In addition to the doctrinal and literary particularities that set Medinan suras apart, scholars underline the failure of Muḥammad to convert his people and the despair exhibited by his followers in Later Meccan suras. In contrast, the Medinan suras depict a successful, socially and politically engaged leader of a growing and strong religious community. This paper approaches literary and content-related developments in Later Meccan suras and demonstrates that our perceptions of a passive messenger in Mecca and an active leader in Medina, and of the emergence of a self-assured community only in Medina, have to be reconsidered. Later Meccan suras depict a contest over the interpretative dominance of the empirical world which ultimately strengthens the authority of Muḥammad and consolidates the emerging group of Followers. They exhibit intertwined developments of literary strategies such as argumentation patterns or parabolic speech, and intensive reflections on notions such as perception and knowledge. Whereas the first part of this paper examines these processes, the second part focuses on the growing importance of the figure of Abraham, a decisive turn to local heritage and the development of liturgical formulas and ethical norms. The exploration and understanding of these textual dynamics are indispensable for understanding the genesis of both Meccan and Medinan suras.

Diversifying Method

By investigating Kant’s anthropology, this chapter presents him as a thinker who was firmly committed to a conception of the human being as shaped by its situatedness in the empirical world of history and culture. However, due to Kant’s own methodological constraints, he could recognize this situatedness only if approached through a deterministic framework that traces the causes and effects of the laws of nature. Human freedom here becomes almost unrecognizable, which makes it necessary for us to acknowledge the systematic nature of Kant’s general “scientific” enterprise. This enterprise employs different methodological strategies and disciplines that all in their own way clarify what it means to be human: a creature that is able to know and understand, but also able to act freely. Kant’s anthropology appeals to us in our capacity to act, thereby performing a function his theoretical sciences fail to cover.

Cartography and Autobiography

This chapter completes the examination, started in Chapter Four, of the second half of the Transcendental Deduction, as found in the second edition of Kant’s Critique of Pure Reason. The focus of this chapter is §24 and §25. The special problem of these sections is empirical self-knowledge. The author argues that Kant treats self-knowledge as a special case of the cosmology of experience: the problem is how I situate myself in the empirical world. The solution to the problem is to build up in thought an understanding of the world by legislating universal laws to nature by means of the categories and to map my geographical and historical place in the world by means of the cartographic resources available to the productive imagination. The chapter has two parts. The first part is devoted to a paradox Kant claims to be associated with self-affection. It tries to understand his claim as a reflection on his own views in the mid-1770s about self-apprehension by inner sense and apperception. The second part of the chapter is devoted to the specialized cartography Kant takes to be involved in empirical self-knowledge and considers how Kant distinguishes between biography and autobiography.