Retfærdiggørelse, ideologi, kritik

Translated title of the contribution: Justification, Ideology, Critique

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Abstract

The aim of this paper is threefold. The first task is to explicate the connections between the concepts of justification, ideology and critique in Luc Boltanski’s and Ève Chiapello’s magnum opus, The New Spirit of Capitalism. Secondly, the relationship between sociology of critique and critical sociology is elucidated. In the 1980-90s Boltanski argued that critical sociology, which approaches social actors critically in search of “hidden” explanations “behind their backs”, should be replaced by sociology of critique, which investigates the critical competencies of the social actors themselves. In The New Spirit of 

Capitalism, however, critical sociology shows up again. How consistent is this move? The third aim is to clarify Boltanski’s and Chiapello’s theoretical position through confrontation with Marxist conceptions of ideology and 

critique (Karl Marx and Slavoy Žižek) and with actor-network theory (Bruno Latour). A quick look at Axel Honneth’s recognition-oriented renewal of critical theory further contributes to the clarification. The main outcome is that sociology of critique has helped to reformulate critical sociology as pragmatic critique, as critical sociology of critique that does not operate with 

deep, transcendent foundations.  

Translated title of the contributionJustification, Ideology, Critique
Original languageDanish
JournalDansk Sociologi
Volume19
Issue number2
Pages (from-to)65-84
Number of pages20
ISSN0905-5908
Publication statusPublished - 2008

Keywords

  • justification
  • ideology
  • critique
  • Boltanski
  • Latour
  • Zizek

Artistic research

  • No

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