Where do the limits of experience lie? Abandoning the dualism of objectivity and subjectivity

The relationship between 'subjective' and 'objective' features of social reality (and between 'subjectivist' and 'objectivist' sociological approaches) remains problematic within social thought. Phenomenology is often taken as a paradigmatic example of subject...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:History of the human sciences 2008-08, Vol.21 (3), p.70-93
Main Authors: Greiffenhagen, Christian, Sharrock, Wes
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Bourdieu, Pierre
Bourdieu, Pierre (1930-2002)
Conceptualization
Dualism
Lave, Jean
Objectivity
Phenomenology
Social reality
Social Structure
Social theory
Subjectivity
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Summary:The relationship between 'subjective' and 'objective' features of social reality (and between 'subjectivist' and 'objectivist' sociological approaches) remains problematic within social thought. Phenomenology is often taken as a paradigmatic example of subjectivist sociology, since it supposedly places exclusive emphasis on actors' 'subjective' interpretations, thereby neglecting 'objective' social structures. In this article, we question whether phenomenology is usefully understood as falling on either side of the standard divides, arguing that phenomenology's conception of 'subjective' experience of social reality includes many features taken to be 'objective' elements of it. We illustrate our argument by a critical examination of Jean Lave's attempt to differentiate social practice theory from phenomenology. We show that many theoretical positions that want to overcome the subjective—objective dualism retain an objectivist conception of the 'subjective' features of social reality.
ISSN:0952-6951
1461-720X
DOI:10.1177/0952695108093954