A pragmatic critique of the conception of everyday praxis within Jeffrey Alexander’s cultural sociology

pages: 423-443

Abstract

This paper tries to critically analyse Jeffrey Alexander’s cultural sociology. In the first part of the paper I will examine Alexander’s conception of hermeneutical structuralism which argues that conventional systemic sociology and richness of experience found in everyday praxis can be reconciled. In the next section I will provide a critique of this kind of approach to social theory and maintain that Alexander’s sociology is, in principle, reductionist regarding everyday life. In addition, I will also point out some of the comparative advantages that pragmatically oriented theory has in the attempt of integrating theoretical and practical knowledge. In the final section of the paper, I will try to illustrate some of the major shortcomings of Alexander’s sociology on the concrete example of advances in computer technology. [Projekat Ministarstva nauke Republike Srbije, br. 43007: Istrаživаnje uticaja klimаtskih promenа nа životnu sredinu: prаćenje uticаjа, аdаptаcijа i ublаžаvаnje] Keywords: cultural sociology, hermeneutical structuralism, everyday life, pragmatism, computer technology