City Research Online

Abstract

The main purpose of this article is to provide an in - depth discu ssion of Luc Boltanski’s On Critique: A Sociology of Emancipation . On the basis of a detailed textual analysis of this book, the paper offers a fine - grained account of the strengths and weaknesses of Boltanski’s «pragmatic sociology of critique». The study is divided into two parts. The first part examines five signi - ficant strengths o f On Critique : (1) its engagement with the normative tasks of critical theory ; (2) its insights into the structuring function of institutions ; (3) its emphasis on the justificatory role of critique ; (4) its concern with the adaptable nature of domination ; and (5) its insistence upon the empowering potential of emancipation . Following the thematic structure of the previous investigation, the second part reflects upon the flaws and limitations of On Critique : (1) its failure to provide solid normative foundat ions for critical theory; (2) its terminologically imprecise, analytically short - sighted, and insufficiently differentiated conception of institutions; (3) its unsystematic approach to the multi - layered relationship between ordinary and scientific forms of critique; (4) its lack of attention to the polycentric constitution of power relations in highly differentiated societies; and (5) its reductive understanding of human emancipation.

Publication Type:	Article
Departments:	School of Policy & Global Affairs > Sociology & Criminology
SWORD Depositor:	Symplectic Administrator

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