(CND1b) Durkheimian Studies: Contemporary Engagements II

In recent decades, Durkheimian sociology and social theory have sparked new debates and controversies while informing research on a wide variety of contemporary social phenomena and events. Canadian sociology has contributed to this renewal in important ways in the French and English languages with major contributions on historical context, critical theorizing, and substantive analyses. Sessions organized by the Canadian Network of Durkheimian Studies/ Réseau canadien d'études durkheimienne (CNDS/RCED) consider a range of contributions including: substantive studies (e.g., religion, cultural analysis, social pathology, suicide), critical perspectives (e.g., decolonizing sociology), theoretical research, creative syntheses such as found in Fields and Fields' work on Durkheim and Du Bois in "Racecraft," and historical-contextual work. Presenters include internationally known scholars, graduate students at all levels, and Canadian academics. Tags: Culture, Religion, Theory

Organizers: Ronjon Paul Datta, University of Windsor, Tara Milbrandt, University of Alberta, William Ramp, University of Lethbridge, Robin Willey, Concordia University; Chair: Ronjon Paul Datta, University of Windsor

Presentations

Hermanpreet Singh, University of Windsor

The Elementary Forms of the Symbolic Exchange of Care: From Durkheim to Baudrillard and Beyond

The decline of altruism, evident in anomic responses to crises in the Canadian healthcare system, seen in a radical Durkheimian way, reveals a weakening of the conscience collective, traditionally connecting individuals through shared norms, values, and beliefs. The commodification of care frames care practices as market transactions, emphasizing profit, efficiency, and individual responsibilization of personal risks. Yet, I contend modern societies covertly remain driven by symbolic forces of mutual social obligations predating capitalism in the form of symbolic exchange (gifts, altruism), that can problematize the hegemony of neoliberal cultural logic. The symbolic exchange of care argues for a re-imagining of care based on the fundamental societal need for non-economic social relations, interdependency, and moral obligations. These social conditions also facilitate the realization of core aspects of social democracy and social rights that can influence policy decision-making, cultural attitudes, and perceptions of justice and morality in Canada. The symbolic exchange of care framework critiques the commodification of care and encourages exploring contemporary practices and rituals that support social solidarity and help mend the conscience collective. 

Paul Carls, Independent

Durkheim as Master of Suspicion

In the 1960s Paul Ricoeur coined the phrase “masters of suspicion” to describe Karl Marx, Friedrich Nietzsche, and Sigmund Freud for their ability to reveal the hidden or repressed meanings or truths located in texts or social and psychological phenomena. Philosophers, theologians, and literary theorists have subsequently applied the term “master of suspicion,” as well as the associated term “hermeneutics of suspicion,” in manifold ways. The concept has become one of philosophy’s recognizable turns of phrase, an “iconic term” that excites imagination and interest in much the same way as Nietzsche’s ‘death of God.’ Ricoeur identifies four aspects that the masters of suspicion have in common: an engagement with religion; their contestation of the primacy of consciousness in the domain of knowledge, which implies a radical critique of the Cartesian cogito and the exposure of false consciousness; the development of a new method of demystification, or a new way to explain consciousness; the destruction of old myths, which implies simultaneously a rebuilding process towards developing a new, more true understanding of reality, a process that involves a liberation from illusion and the expansion of consciousness. Durkheim’s sociological project contains all of these elements: by showing how individuals are socially constructed, including even their ability for logical thought, his work exposes the falsity of the Cartesian cogito and the idea of the independent and autonomous ego; he develops a new sociological method which seeks to unmask the hidden social processes that determine individual thought and behavior; his sociology destroys old ways of thinking, but simultaneously actively rebuilds a new understanding of reality, and seeks to expand consciousness by highlighting how consciousness is shaped by social processes; his work on religion is an exercise in a hermeneutics of suspicion just as radical as that of the other masters of suspicion. This contribution will explain the ways in which Durkheim is truly a master of suspicion in Ricoeur’s sense, but also seeks to understand why Ricoeur did not mention Durkheim. The contribution will thus explore how Durkheim is relevant for hermeneutics, while also exploring facets of his methodology in new ways.

Carlos Fabris, Heidelberg University

Crisis, Critique and Therapy: Durkheim's moral individualism as Zeitdiagnose

Émile Durkheim offers various analyses and normative propositions regarding the transformations experienced in the emergence of modernity, with particular emphasis on its moral dimension. Referring to these broad analyses of a specific period, the genre of "Zeitdiagnose" has recently emerged, especially in the German context. Although their focus is on the present, their discussions can be applied to the analysis of classical texts and their diagnoses. With reference to this literature, we try to explore theoretically the construction of Durkheims diagnoses in their dimensions of crisis, critique, and therapy from a perspective of moral sociology. Furthermore, it is possible to identify the potentialities and limitations of Durkheimian insights in the face of contemporary challenges. To this end, first, the central aspects of the literature on the diagnosis of time were organized, delimiting its elements and its relation to (classical) theory. Second, the different fronts of Durkheims theory were examined in order to understand his formulation of a diagnosis, especially concepts such as morality, pathology and normality, anomie and moral individualism. Third, contemporary debates were compared with the classical formulation, in the sense of an update of Durkheims theory. In this sense we combined a specific literature-oriented interpretation of his work with an in-depth theoretical analysis of the works related to the topic - as well as secondary literature -, in order to finally point out elements of a development of his ideas in contemporary discussions. It is argued that Durkheims diagnosis centers on the concept of moral individualism. This concept displays characteristics of diagnoses, such as generality, public orientation, and normativity. Various moral and ethical concepts from Durkheims work can be combined to construct a comprehensive interpretation of modernity as analyzed and experienced by the author. This text discusses the maintenance of solidarity through the sacredness of the autonomous person as a human ideal. Additionally, it argues that Durkheimian sociology has positive contributions to current discussions, particularly when some of its limitations are reinterpreted and actualized, as exemplified by Hans Joas analyses of sacralization (and its opposite, desacralization) and current postsecular discussions. In the theoretical analysis, we concluded that the centrality of the concept of moral ideal is crucial to link the different analyses of the author, to understand the crises, to justify his critique, and to offer new perspectives based on normative ideals. The erosion of communal solidarity and social bonds after greater social differentiation requires a new common ideal that can transcend the different local orientations with a broader reach in order to avoid anomie. Durkheim argues that moral individualism is the normal state for stabilizing modern society, rather than a pathological one. Many of Durkheims original insights remain valid in contemporary discussions, updated in relation to other theoretical traditions and new empirical evidence. Our goal is to contribute to the discussions of the Durkheim Research Cluster by providing a theoretical analysis of his work and concepts. Furthermore, we will offer a critical perspective on how his ideas can be updated in dialogue with current productions, particularly in the sociology of morality and Zeitdiagnose. In the context of the conference, the concept of shared futures addresses Durkheims dilemma of order and his discussions with conservative ideals and specters that haunted the Third French Republic. Revisiting the classics and their propositions can provide paths for contemplating shared ideals and lives when considering contemporary problems and possibilities.

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Non-presenting author: Raquel Weiss, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul