Saturday, December 5, 2020

Vandenberghe, F. (2018). Sociology as practical philosophy and moral science. Theory, Culture & Society, 35(3), 77-97. doi:10.1177/0263276417709343


 The two are related, but to the extent that moral philosophy presupposes an actor who deliberates and evaluates, practical philosophy comes first. 


For social scientists who are wary of invocations of classic philosophers they have not read and who doubt that it is not only possible, but also necessary and desirable, to look for rational foundations of normative principles, let me connect practical philosophy more directly to sociology. 

["Instrumental" and "value rationality" are terms scholars use to identify two ways humans reason when coordinating group behaviour to maintain social life. Instrumental rationality recognizes means that "work" efficiently to achieve ends. Value rationality recognizes ends that are "right," legitimate in themselves.

These two ways of reasoning seem to operate separately. Efficient means are recognized inductively in heads or brains or minds. Legitimate ends are felt deductively in hearts or guts or souls. Instrumental rationality provides intellectual tools—scientific and technological facts and theories—that appear to be impersonal, value-free means. Value rationality provides legitimate rules—moral valuations—that appear to be emotionally satisfying, fact-free ends. Every society maintains itself by coordinating instrumental means with value rational ends. Together they make humans rational.]


By judging oneself as one would like to be judged by others, thus through the detour of a benevolent other (the so-called ‘impartial and sympathetic observer’), one becomes moral and virtuous: ‘No action can properly be called virtuous, which is not accompanied with the sentiment of self-approbation’ (Smith, 1976: III, 6–13). Thanks to the mechanism of sentimental decentring, one can better understand what motivates actors to go out of themselves to care about or communicate with others.

[but B & T aren't about becoming moral, there's no empathy in there, morals are the backdrop? it's certainly about rational? actors? making choices, ... are morals the means? ]

[btw, you'll have to do a kind of problem/solution thing with tech comm. so the problem will surely have to be with ANT or AT]

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