Introduction: From Presentism and Historicism to Discourse

Abstract

This part is devoted to a theoretical and methodological preparation for the discourse analysis of the construction of sociology carried out in the second part of this study. After introductory remarks aimed at clarifying the rationale for this approach by reference to the contemporary debate about the history of sociology, some of the most central theoretical and methodological considerations of the proposed discourse approach are presented. The basic assumption here is that the construction of sociology takes place within the context of the discourse of modernity. It is thus a matter of discursive construction. The discourse of modernity opened up the space or field and thus made and, indeed, still makes possible the construction of sociology. It provides the framework within which societal problems are first collectively identified and defined, and then addressed from the point of view of finding a collectively acceptable solution. The identification, definition and solving of societal problems involve the production of knowledge of various kinds. The participants – social actors, collective agents and social movements, but also social scientists, particularly sociologists – take part in the production of collective interpretations and definitions, explanations and theories, and orienting knowledge, thus carrying the process of the self-interpretation and self-diagnosis of society. The societal discourse produces general, collectively shared social knowledge as well as more systematic and specialised moral philosophical and social scientific or sociological knowledge. These different types of knowledge all play a part in structuring and organising the experience of the participants and providing cultural resources, such as a horizon of expectations, orientations and goals.