Sociological Semanticide

On Reification, Tautology and the Destruction of Language

Bibliographic Data

ID2276154
AuthorsRonny E Turner (Colorado State University), Charles Edgley (0000-0002-7922-1994, Oklahoma State University)
Year1980
Volume21
Issue4
Pages595-605
Publication date1980-09-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueSociological Quarterly (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0038-0253 • E-ISSN: 1533-8525
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1111/j.1533-8525.1980.tb00638.x
OpenAlexW2079636346
LanguageEN
Citations received7
References cited37

Classification, a fundamental human act, is the ultimate foundation of science, as well as the basis of everyday life. Exercising the prerogatives of science and the arts, the social sciences are rich in metaphoric classifications: mechanistic, organismic, systemic, and dramaturgical to name a few. Metaphors like similes, parables, and models are useful tools only as long as they are remembered as what they are—constructs. A beguiling temptation exists to treat such classifications literally as reified entities and as hypostasized tautologies. This paper addresses the misuse of language—acmanticide—in the social sciences and particularly the sociological concepts of attitude, norm, and role. Semanticide occurs when these concepts are converted from behavioral descriptions into tautological causes. A renewed emphasis on the philosophy and sociology of language is needed

Epistemology · Everyday life · Human science · Politics · Reification (Marxism) · Social science · Sociology · Tautology (logic) · Temptation · The arts · Computer Science · Critical Realism in Sociology · Language, Metaphor, and Cognition · Law · Philosophy · Pragmatism in Philosophy and Education · Psychology · Social Psychology

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