What is it about?
More and more scholars now recognize that the cognitive paradigm of modern science has contributed to the poly-crisis, affecting both nature and, when applied in the social sciences, society. First of all, positivistic, positivist sociology theorized society as analogous to nature, depriving participants in social life of agency, and subjecting them to external, objective forces. Power could now be exercised through the establishment of rules, based on the “scientific knowledge” of social behavior patterns. Second, sociology have gradually assumed the authority to generate social self-knowledge, dismissing the validity of common knowledge and common sense. The widening gap between individuals shaping society in their daily lives and the concept, diagnosis, and narrative of “society” as formulated by science exemplifies a classic case of alienation. In this text, I introduce the concept of the alienation of scholarly social knowledge and explore its origins and consequences. I aim to support the thesis that the scientific project of “modern society,” conceived in Western Europe during a specific historical period, has evolved into a tool for the exploitation of social resources.
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Why is it important?
Overcoming the crisis requires a change in the dominant paradigm of social sciences, including the abandonment of the cognitive monopoly in favor of co-creative research as understood by Bernard Stiegler.
Perspectives
In writing this article, I hoped to draw attention to the social responsibility of social sciences towards participants in social life and the need to include them in the processes of generating social knowledge.
Sociology and the Alienation of Knowledge Anna Giza
University of Warsaw
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Sociology and the Alienation of Knowledge, September 2024, Brill,
DOI: 10.1163/9789004708549_003.
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