Alle Publikationen
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2016
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(2016): A Critical Social Systems View of the Internet. In: Philosophy of the Social Sciences 37 (4), S. 471-500. DOI: 10.1177/0048393107307664
Abstract: The article discusses principles that form part of evolutionary systems thinking in social sciences and humanities. It is argued that introducing the concept of self-organization relates agency and structures in a way that makes it possible to take up certain features of Critical Theory by which it can meet the demands for a critical social science. These principles are applied to the question of whether there is convergence or divergence in and by means of the Internet. It will be clarified that the Internet is basically a social system and that it is a subsystem of the larger and overarching system of the whole society. It will be shown how the Internet can be perceived as a possible trigger for societal developments bringing about fundamental change in the nature of society. Thus the article cuts across philosophical, system theoretical, social theoretical, sociology of technology, and information society theory considerations.
Keywords: agency, critical Theory, Disziplin, dynamic, epistemology, Evolution, Handlungsmacht, information society, Informations- & Kommunikationstechnik, Internet, Kritische Theorie, mechanism, Mensch-Technik-Relationen (MTR), Philosophie, Realtechnik, revolution, Selbstorganisation, self-organization, social system, social systems, soziales System, Soziologie, STS, Technik 2015
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Dahms, Harry F. (2015): Globalization, critique and social theory. Bingle, UK: Emerald Group Publishing Limited (Current perspectives in social theory$$vvolume 33)
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(2015): Normativität und Macht. Zur Analyse sozialer Rechtfertigungsordnungen. Erste Auflage. Berlin: Suhrkamp (Suhrkamp-Taschenbuch Wissenschaft)
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(2015) : The Neo-Idealist Paradigm Shift in Contemporary Critical Theory In: Dahms, Harry F.: Globalization, critique and social theory: Bingle, UK: Emerald Group Publishing Limited (Current perspectives in social theory$$vvolume 33), S. 135-163
Abstract: Purpose - To defend the thesis that critical theory has become unable to call into question and challenge the main impulses of modern capitalist societies. The reason for this is that the capacities of language on the one hand and the hermeneutic processes that underlie the process of "recognition" are insufficient to counter the power of socialization to shape subjectivity and the cognitive and evaluative capacities of subjects. Methodology/approach - I provide a critical reading of the methodology of linguistic and recognitive theories of intersubjectivity by means of a theory of domination derived from Rousseau which shapes the cognitive and epistemic powers of subjects thereby weakening their capacity to be socialized via the media of language and social recognition. Findings - By divorcing our cognitive ideas about the social world from the social-ontological processes that shape and deform it under capitalism, this brand of critical theory succeeds in sealing off the mechanisms of social domination and power relations that were at the heart of the enterprise from its inception. Research limitations/implications - Critical theory must move toward a more comprehensive theory of the social totality in order for it to retain its critical character. Originality/value - The paper questions the main ideas held by the mainstream of critical theory such as its reliance on hermeneutic and linguistic forms of consciousness and social praxis as well as a theoretical reliance on pragmatic theories of mind and Mead's conception of socialization.
2014
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(2014) : Bringing the Critical Back in. Toward the Resurrection of the Frankfurt School In: Dahms, Harry F.: Mediations of social life in the 21st century, 32: First edition: Bingle, UK: Emerald Group Publishing (Current Perspectives in Social Theory), S. 195-227
Abstract: Purpose - To resurrect and renew the tradition of the early Frankfurt School, whose of Marxist-Hegelian dialectical approach to understanding the societal conditions of its emergence - post World War I Germany, the rise of fascism, New Deal politics, the defeat of fascism, and the subsequent rise of consumer society - remains relevant to studying present circumstances, stressing the cultural dimension of capitalism, the proliferation of alienation, ideology, and mass media, and, finally, the nature of the society-character/subjectivity nexus. Methodology - Employing a comparative historical approach to the study of alienation, ideology, and character, to articulate social-theoretical standards for critical social research today. Social implications - Global civilization faces an array of crises, beginning with economies whose lack of growth or stability the ability of a large segment of the world's population to obtain jobs conducive to a decent standard of life. With governments' inability to implement public policies to buffer instabilities, cultural values are in crisis as well. Findings - Reviving the framework of early Frankfurt School Critical Theory is necessary to promote a better world. Originality - Reconstructing key concerns of the Frankfurt School is conducive to critiquing this tradition's recent preoccupation with communication and recognition, and demonstrates how the first generation's legacy helps us understand contemporary social movements of the Right and the Left, in ways that are similar to the Weimar Republic in Germany. Both the Right and the Left being products of legitimation crises that trigger a desire for regressive or progressive social change - the Right would restore a mythical past, the Left would foster a new social order based on humanistic concerns.
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