Abstract:Immanent critique has been a defining feature of the programme of critical social theory. It is a methodology that underpins theoretical diagnoses of contemporary society, based on its linking normative and empirical modes of analysis. Immanent critique distinctively seeks to discern emancipatory or democratizing tendencies. However, the viability of immanent critique is currently in question. Habermas argued that it was necessary to revise the normative foundations of critical social theory, late-capitalist d… Show more
“…It is not uncommon to find observers in critical theory mourning the decline of the grand critiques of society or at least discussing how social critique based on externally given universal values can be maintained (Browne 2008;Honneth 2000). Often, it is presented as if 'real' critique must necessarily build on an externally given normative foundation, which is not distorted by power or similar empirical phenomena.…”
The relationship between critique and power is controversial in both society and sociology. Instead of setting a normative yardstick of critique, the article looks to conceptualize the intimate relationship between critique and power based on the observation that both are often displaced in processes of major social change, not least in the recent decades' reversal of hierarchy. The article conceptualizes the main idea about displacement of critique and power on the basis of what Foucault terms the 'tactical polyvalence of discourse' and similar ideas from the governmentality lectures. The argument is further developed in a discussion with Boltanski and Chiapello's work on the new spirit of capitalism. The discussion illustrates how effective critiques of power often turn the inside out of normative ideas about conduct or management, which is exemplified in the movement from anti-authoritarian critiques of hierarchy after 1968 to new and flexible forms of government.
“…It is not uncommon to find observers in critical theory mourning the decline of the grand critiques of society or at least discussing how social critique based on externally given universal values can be maintained (Browne 2008;Honneth 2000). Often, it is presented as if 'real' critique must necessarily build on an externally given normative foundation, which is not distorted by power or similar empirical phenomena.…”
The relationship between critique and power is controversial in both society and sociology. Instead of setting a normative yardstick of critique, the article looks to conceptualize the intimate relationship between critique and power based on the observation that both are often displaced in processes of major social change, not least in the recent decades' reversal of hierarchy. The article conceptualizes the main idea about displacement of critique and power on the basis of what Foucault terms the 'tactical polyvalence of discourse' and similar ideas from the governmentality lectures. The argument is further developed in a discussion with Boltanski and Chiapello's work on the new spirit of capitalism. The discussion illustrates how effective critiques of power often turn the inside out of normative ideas about conduct or management, which is exemplified in the movement from anti-authoritarian critiques of hierarchy after 1968 to new and flexible forms of government.
“…Contrary to the notion that immanent critique means revealing the contradiction between socially accepted claims and reality, these contradictions have always been necessary ones in Critical Theory (Browne, 2008), in which 'necessary' refers to those contradictions that inevitably arise from the social order. Thus, immanent critique is not a matter of holding a mirror up to the criticized individuals and showing them their own contradictions so that they can deliberately change their behaviour.…”
Section: Combining Immanent Critique and Discourse Analysismentioning
confidence: 99%
“…The notion of immanent critique -a normative position that is developed from existing society that not only reveals prospects for social change but also contributes to that change -represents a solution to the problem of how to justify normative critique (see also Browne, 2008;Romero, 2013;Stahl, 2013b). This type of critique is also described as immanent transcendence (Honneth, 2000).…”
Although discourse analysts often conceive of their work as critical, there is little theoretical discussion regarding the possibility of normative critique in the scientific community of discourse analysis. Rarely are the normative grounds and normative scope of such a critique clear. Thus, this article attempts to find theoretically robust and practical answers to the following question: 'How is a normative critique possible?' In seeking my answer, I first provide a short overview of the possibilities of normative critique in critical discourse analysis. Second, I offer an argument in favour of immanent critique while explaining both its advantages and its theoretical and practical problems. Finally, I demonstrate how sociological discourse analysis and immanent critique can mutually benefit from one another. The theses I formulate and defend are as follows: Although the notion of immanent critique cannot adequately answer methodological questions, these answers can be found in several recent proposals on discourse analysis. Additionally, a combination of the dialectical approaches to immanent critique and discourse analysis might help overcome the methodological deficit of Critical Theory. Finally, this combination can resolve several theoretical deficits in discourse theory.
“…In the name of (self-)discipline, it must remain accountable. Immanent critique, whether it has reached its end (Browne 2008), revives the logic of krino from which it descends and leads the universal secular intellectual to ask herself: 'And what if religio remained untranslatable?' (Derrida 2002a, 67).…”
Section: Democratic Criticism and The Immanent Critique Of Secularismmentioning
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