Plural modernity and negotiated universals

Some concepts–"modernity" being one of them–have a tendency to wander, and when they do, they change. Societal projects such as the formation of civil society emerge and seek recognition from specific historical cultures. Initially, the concepts "modern," "modernity," and "modernization" bore a European imprint, but over time they became a European–North American hybrid. The word modern and/or its Latin equivalent have been documented since the 5th century. By contrast, "modernization" did not become a central idea in or outside of the social sciences until the 1950s or 1960s. Strongly influenced by American sources, it contributed to a redefinition of the term "modernity" by treating the latter as a product or touchstone of modernization. The paradigm shift from classical modernization theories toward the plurality-of-modernities position offers a particularly good example of what is intended here by the term "negotiate." Because negotiation causes a basic conceptual scheme to be modified, its openness to diversity increases along with its capacity for renewal.

Epistemology · Linguistics · Modernity · Plural · Problem of universals · Sociology · Critical Theory and Philosophy · Philosophy