Social theory and the everyday: some methodological insights from Wittgenstein

TY - JOUR

T1 - Social theory and the everyday

T2 - some methodological insights from Wittgenstein

AU - Hermansen, Jens Christian

PY - 2017/1/2

Y1 - 2017/1/2

N2 - The article argues for the relevance of rediscovering Wittgenstein in social theory with particular focus on his philosophical method. The article is divided into three parts. Part I gives a brief overview of Wittgenstein’s role in the coming of age of the influential 1980s generation of European social theory. Parts II and III discuss Wittgenstein’s method and its significance for social theory. In Wittgenstein’s late philosophy, there are deep and unique insights to be gained about doing theoretical research. These insights can be extended to the social sciences. The article argues that the tradition of social theory can benefit from being linked to Wittgenstein’s method which suggests a way of theorizing on the basis of detailed case-knowledge; that it can profit from bringing this method into an explicit relation to existing approaches, styles and tools in social theory. Despite its sketchy and unfinished character, Wittgenstein’s case study method can be a guide for a way of bridging the widening gap between theoretical and empirical forms of research that can be observed in the social sciences today.

AB - The article argues for the relevance of rediscovering Wittgenstein in social theory with particular focus on his philosophical method. The article is divided into three parts. Part I gives a brief overview of Wittgenstein’s role in the coming of age of the influential 1980s generation of European social theory. Parts II and III discuss Wittgenstein’s method and its significance for social theory. In Wittgenstein’s late philosophy, there are deep and unique insights to be gained about doing theoretical research. These insights can be extended to the social sciences. The article argues that the tradition of social theory can benefit from being linked to Wittgenstein’s method which suggests a way of theorizing on the basis of detailed case-knowledge; that it can profit from bringing this method into an explicit relation to existing approaches, styles and tools in social theory. Despite its sketchy and unfinished character, Wittgenstein’s case study method can be a guide for a way of bridging the widening gap between theoretical and empirical forms of research that can be observed in the social sciences today.

KW - Faculty of Social Sciences

KW - Social theory

KW - Wittgenstein

KW - case study method

KW - everyday life

KW - theorizing

KW - gap between theoretical and empirical research

KW - methodological instructions

M3 - Journal article

SN - 1600-910X

VL - 18

SP - 41

EP - 58

JO - Distinktion

JF - Distinktion

IS - 1

ER -