Norbert Elias's Post-Philosophical Sociology

From 'Critique' to Relative Detachment

Bibliographic Data

ID3526002
AuthorsRichard Kilminster (University of Leeds, corresponding author)
Year2011
Volume59
Issue1_suppl
Pages91-116
Publication date2011-06-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueThe Sociological Review (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0038-0261 • E-ISSN: 1467-954X
PublisherSAGE Publications Inc (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1111/j.1467-954x.2011.01980.x
OpenAlexW1865440470
LanguageEN
Citations received18
References cited26

This paper argues that Elias's work presupposes a radical abandonment of philosophy as a vestige of magical-mythical thinking that has been rendered obsolete by the rise of sociology. For Elias, attempts by philosophers to claim a continuing non-empirical area of investigation are spurious and reflect only professional interests. The origins of Elias's position are traced to his rejection of neo-Kantianism and his participation in the Wissenssoziologie of Karl Mannheim in Weimar Germany. Focusing on the traditional ethical or normative questions, the paper shows how Elias's conception of the 'detour via detachment' enabled him to transcribe these issues (as well as traditional epistemological and ontological questions) into sociologically manageable terms. His strategy is further clarified through a comparison with the all-pervasive Critical Sociology approach to these matters, which emerges as severely handicapped by its reliance upon quasi-metaphysical, transcendental arguments. Also, its attributions of social blame generate fear images that reinforce conflict and its negative overstatements strengthen anxiety and frustration, thereby bolstering precisely what it is trying to change. The paper reveals the tacit function as a leftist code-word that the term 'critical' performs for many sociologists. Neo-Marxist 'critique' is shown to be a profoundly flawed attempt to deal with issues of theory and practice

Critical theory · Embeddedness · Epistemology · Marxist philosophy · Normative · Pragmatism · Social science · Sociology · Contemporary Sociological Theory and Practice · Law · Philosophy · Social and Cultural Dynamics · Sociology and Norbert Elias

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