Phenomenological sociology

A phenomenological sociology is a theory of action. She calls one at the exact observation and intuitive assembly of social facts -oriented social science, whose investigations are derived neither from parent theories nor empirically based on data collection and statistical figures. Main representatives were who emigrated to the United States Alfred Schutz (1899-1959) and Günther Anders (1902-1992) at the New School for Social Research, Anders also after his return to Vienna in 1950. Independently them was a joint scientific paradigm, basic structures the everyday life worlds work out.

Requirements

Origin of Alfred Schutz's approach were the " Understanding Sociology " Max Weber and the phenomenological method of the Freiburg philosopher Edmund Husserl ( 1859-1938 ). Starting point in the narrow sense was Husserl's conception of the " world of the natural attitude ," the world of our everyday life that all citizens, an intersubjective world is common to us.

In terms of Husserl's terminology, it was, therefore, to the " things themselves " to return. The world had to be so understood, as it was directly experienced by the actor and not constructed by applying conceptualizations. The concepts with which people in their everyday problems, situations, events, etc. collect and interpret ( " first-order constructs " ), had in a further step in " second-order constructs ", are translated into the social science theorizing.

In principle, the principle applies: There are no social structures outside and independently of the interpretive processes in the interaction. The normative paradigm, as it is represented by functionalism, systems theory and behavioral theory, here is a basic alternative to, namely the so-called " interpretive paradigm ".

Services

In the sociological biography research, interaction and conversation analysis of the approaches of Alfred Schutz have been applied fruitfully. The phenomenological sociology has contributed as much to the development of ethnomethodology. From the symbolic interactionism, it differs in that it emphasizes more the character of shared symbols as "knowledge" and the biographical component in the constitution of the everyday world.

Topics on which the phenomenological sociology works are, for example perspectives of intersubjectivity, " Man" and self - concepts, life-world as a social world, corporeality, and sociality, meaning and appearance, language and human communication as well as institution and history, community as an association of persons.

Criticism

The concept of phenomenological sociology is not accepted everywhere. Instead, it is pointed out that Alfred Schutz rather wanted to develop the concept of " interpretive sociology " (see the meaningful structure of the social world, Fifth Section ).