Ritual and the Sacred: A Neo-Durkheimian Analysis of Politics, Religion and the Self (Rethinking Classical Sociology)

"Ritual and the Sacred" discusses some of the most important issues of modern socio-political life through the lens of a neo-Durkheimian perspective. Building on the main lesson of Durkheim's "Elementary Forms of Religious Life", this book articulates values and practices common to non-Western and religious traditions that have the capacity to shape our modern way of living. Central to this volume is the question of modernity and scepticism with regard to mainstream Western wisdom; Rosati focuses on the notion of societal self-reassessment and self-revision, illustrating a willingness to learn from 'primitive' societies. This reassessment necessitates us to rethink the central roles played by ritual and the sacred as building books of social and individual life, both of which remain salient features within the modern world. This title will be of key interest to sociologists of religion, philosophy politics and social theorists. Revealing The Extent To Which Scholars Are Seeking To Understand Both Current And Historical Issues Through The Sociology Of Max Weber, This Book Reaffirms And Extends The Enduring Relevance Of Weber's Thought To Contemporary Cultural And Political Questions. Introduction. Interweaving Past And Present /david J. Chalcraft --pt. 1. Interweaving Past And Present: Setting The Scene -- 1. Why Hermeneutics, The Text(s) And The Biography Of The Work Matter In Max Weber Studies /david J. Chalcraft -- 2. Reminiscences Of The Weber Centenary 1964, Its Prehistory And Aftermath: Lessons In Academic Politics /guenther Roth --pt. 2. Philosophical Dialogues --3. Philosophy Beyond The Bounds Of Reason: The Influence Of Max Weber On The Development Of Karl Jasper's Existenzphilosophie, 1909-1932 /joshua Derman --4. Merleau-ponty's Use Of The Weberian Example: Avoiding Totalizing Meanings In History /ritchie Savage --5. Adorno's Paradox Weber's Constructionism: Scrutinizing Theory And Method /fanon John Howell --6. The Elusiveness Of Meaning: From Max Weber To Jurgen Habermas /maria Victoria Crespo --pt. 3. Theorizing Rationality And Processes Of Rationalization --7. Blind Spot? Weber's Concept Of Expertise And The Perplexing Case Of China /stephen P. Turner --8. Economic Rationalization, Money And Measures: A Weberian Perspective /hector Vera --9. Applied Science And Rationalized Hinduism -- An Elective Affinity? /richard Cimino --10. Rationality And Nuclear Weapons: Weber's Pertinence In The Post-annihilatory Age /brian C. Bartholomew --pt. 4. The Culture Of Capitalism: Past And Present --11. The Acquisitive Machine: Max Weber, Thorstein Veblen, And The Culture Of Consumptive Individualism /graham Cassano --12. Vergesellschaftung And Berufsmenschentum: Max Weber On Religion And Rationalism In The Middle Ages /lutz Kaelber --13. Beyond The Protestant Ethic: Culture, Subjectivity And Instrumental Labour /richard Lloyd --pt. 5. Studies In The Sociology Of Legitimacy --14. The Leadership Of The Dead: Notes Towards A Weberian Analysis Of Charisma In Narratives Of Martyrdom /marisol Lopez Menendez -- 15. The Da Vinci Code: Ecclesial Governance And Max Weber's Ideal Types Of Authority / James H. Mahon. 16. Weber's Rational-legal Model Of Legitimation And The Police In London And New York City, 1830-1870 / Wilbur R. Miller --pt. 6. Consciousness, History, Relativism And Interweaving Past And Present -- 17. The Perpetual And Tight Interweaving Of Past And Present In Max Weber's Sociology / Stephen Kalberg -- 18. Temporality And The Value Of Facts In Max Weber's Critical Social Science / Robert M. Slammon -- 19. Weber And The Straussian Charge Of Relativism / Ahmad Sadri And Mahmoud Sadri. Edited By David Chalcraft ... [et Al.]. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. Preface Introduction: interweaving past and present David J. Chalcraft Part 1 Setting the Scene Why hermeneutics, the text(s) and the biography of the work matter in Max Weber studies David J. Chalcraft Reminiscences of the Weber centenary 1964, its prehistory and aftermath: lessons in academic politics Guenther Roth Part 2 Philosophical Dialogues Philosophy beyond the bounds of reason: the influence of Max Weber on the development of Karl Jasper's Existenzphilosophie, 1909-1932 Joshua Derman Merleau-Ponty's use of the Weberian example: avoiding totalizing meanings in history Ritchie Savage Adorno's paradox Weber's constructionism: scrutinizing theory and method Fanon John Howell The elusiveness of meaning: from Max Weber to Jürgem Habermas Maria Victoria Crespo Part 3 Theorizing Rationality and Processes of Rationalization Blind spot? Weber's concept of expertise and the perplexing case of China Stephen P. Turner Economic rationalization, money and measures: a Weberian perspective Hector Vera Applied science and rationalized Hinduism - an elective affinity? Richard Cimino Rationality and nuclear weapons: Weber's pertinence in the post-annihilatory age Brian C. Batholomew Part 4 The Culture of Capitalism: Past and Present The acquisitive machine Max Weber, Thordstein Veblen, and the culture of consumptive individualism Graham Cassano Vergesellschaftung and Berufsmenschentum: Max Weber on religion and rationalism in the Middle Ages Lutz Kaelber Beyond the Protestant ethic: culture, subjectivity and instrumental labor Richard Lloyd Part 5 Studies in the Sociology of Legitimacy The leadership of the dead: notes towards a Weberian analysis of charisma in narratives of martyrdom Marisol Lopez Menendez The Da Vinci Code: ecclesial governance and Max Weber's ideal types of authority James H. Mahon Weber's rational-legal model of legitimation and the police in London and New York City, 1830-1870 Wilbur R. Miller Part 6 Consciousness, History, Relativism and Interweaving of Past and Present The perpetual and tight interweaving of past and present in Max Weber's sociology Stephen Kalberg Temporality and the value of facts in Max Weber's critical social science Robert M. Slammon Weber and the Straussian charge of relativism Ahmad Sadri and Mahmoud Sadri Index Contents......Page 6 List of Figures and Illustration......Page 8 Series Editor’s Preface......Page 10 Acknowledgments......Page 12 About the Author......Page 14 Introduction: Thorny Issues......Page 18 1.0 The ‘tragic competition’ and the winner......Page 28 1.2 A ‘look from far-away’ on modernity......Page 29 2.0 Fragments of a diagnosis......Page 38 2.1 A short history of the introspective conscience......Page 41 2.2 The person: An alternative narrative of the same story......Page 45 2.3 Sociological consequences......Page 51 2.4 Modernity’s wager: Boundaries and contemporary strains......Page 53 2.5 Alternative stories: Ritual and the sacred, past and present......Page 56 3.1 Forms of social performances: Postmodern-mystical practices and liturgical ritualism......Page 58 3.2 The sacred ‘then and now’: Religious evolution and the ‘spiritual unity of mankind’......Page 67 3.3 Beyond ‘our comfortable village’......Page 73 3.4 Liturgical ritualism and traditions......Page 77 4.0 Self-cultivation and social norms from a Durkheimian perspective......Page 88 4.1 The Self, constitutive groups and willed subjection......Page 92 4.2 Ritual reflectivity and autonomy......Page 96 4.3 Comparative perspectives: Rabbinic ethics and Confucianism......Page 101 5.0 Not only liberal......Page 106 5.1 Politics and the cybernetics of the sacred......Page 107 5.2 The many faces of the sacred: Society as a ‘union of traditions’ and post-liberal democracies......Page 114 5.3 Non-Atlantic democracies......Page 118 5.4 Political arrangements for a post-post-protestant understanding of religions......Page 129 6.0 Laïcité: The European exception......Page 134 6.1 The (particularistic) socio-philosophical presuppositions of the European exception......Page 136 6.2 New routes to pluralism: Laïcité as a cooperative practice......Page 137 6.3 The mark of particularity: Post-liberal approaches to religious pluralism......Page 148 Conclusion: Durkheim debut du siècle......Page 152 Bibliography......Page 160 Index......Page 176 Emile Durkheim's matrix On discovering Durkheim Emile Durkheim and social change Durkheim and Husserl : a comparison of the spirit of positivism and the spirit of phenomenology Durkheim, Mathiez, and the French Revolution : the political context of a sociological classic Situating Durkheim's sociology of work Durkheim, solidarity and September 11 Contextualizing the emergence of sociology : the Durkheimian school in Search of bygone society Avant-garde art and avant-garde sociology : primitivism and Durkheim ca. 1905-1913 From Durkheim to Managua : revolutions as religious revivals Sexual anomie, social structure, and societal change No laughing matter : understanding violent reactions to Danish Muhammed: cartoons A problem for the sociology of knowledge : the mutual unawareness of Emile Durkheim and Max Weber Neither Marx nor Durkheim : perhaps Weber Durkheim and Weber : first cousins? Collective effervescence, social change, and charisma : Durkheim, Weber and 1989 On the shoulders of Weber and Durkheim: East Asia and emergent modernity. Ritual and the Sacred discusses some of the most important issues of modern socio-political life through the lens of a neo-Durkheimian perspective. Building on the main lesson of Durkheim's Elementary Forms of Religious Life, this book articulates values and practices common to non-Western and religious traditions that have the capacity to shape our modern way of living. Central to this volume is the question of modernity and scepticism with regard to mainstream Western wisdom; Rosati focuses on the notion of societal self-reassessment and self-revision, illustrating a willingness to learn from'primitive'societies. This reassessment necessitates us to rethink the central roles played by ritual and the sacred as building blocks of social and individual life, both of which remain salient features within the modern world. This title will be of key interest to sociologists of religion, philosophy politics and social theorists. Critical Social Theory and the End of Work examines the development and sociological significance of the idea that work is being eliminated through the use of advanced production technology. Granters engagement with the work of key American and European figures such as Marx, Marcuse, Gorz, Habermas and Negri, focuses his arguments for the abolition of labour as a response to the current socio-historical changes affecting our work ethic and consumer ideology. By combining history of ideas with social theory, this book considers how the 'end of work' thesis has developed and has been critically implemented in the analysis of modern society. This book will appeal to scholars of sociology, history of ideas, social and cultural theory as well as those working in the fields of critical management and sociology of work. Critical Social Theory and the End of Work examines the development and sociological significance of the idea that work is being eliminated through the use of advanced production technology. Granter's engagement with the work of key American and European figures such as Marx, Marcuse, Gorz, Habermas and Negri, focuses his arguments for the abolition of labour as a response to the current socio-historical changes affecting our work ethic and consumer ideology. By combining history of ideas with social theory, this book considers how the 'end of work' thesis has developed and has been critically implemented in the analysis of modern society. His work will appeal to scholars of sociology, history of ideas, social and cultural theory as well as those working in the fields of critical management and sociology of work This volume clearly communicates that Weber's influence is of great significance to the history of social science, and to appreciating the theoretical work of other social scientists in the modern age. Its insightful and timely publication comprises topical and innovative work discussing Weber in a range of historical and contemporary questions including: the controversy surrounding the Da Vinci code; the charismatic role of martyrs; the nuclear weapons strategy in a post-cold-war age and the affinity between Hindu belief systems and disenchanted computer science. Max Weber Matters illustrates the multidisciplinary and continued relevance of Weber's work and will be of interest to scholars across a range of disciplines, including historians, sociologists, political scientists and social theorists. For Durkheim is a timely and original contribution to the debate about Durkheim at a time when his concerns on ethics, morality and civil religion have much relevance for our own troubled and divided society. It includes two new essays from Edward A. Tiryakian's collection on the Danish Muhammad cartoons and September 11th, providing contemporary relevance to the debate and an analytical and interpretive introduction indicating the ongoing importance of Durkheim within sociology. This indispensable volume for all serious Durkheim scholars includes English translations of papers previously published in French for the first time, and will be of interest to sociologists, anthropologists, social historians and those interested in critical questions of modernity. Introduction : Critical Social Theory And The End Of Work -- The Beginning Of The End Of Work -- Industrialism, Utopia, And The End Of Work -- Marx And The End Of Work -- Marcuse : Needs And Potentialities In The Age Of Automation -- The Future Of Work And Leisure -- André Gorz : Postindustrial Marxism And The End Of Work -- Sociology And The End Of Work -- Travail Sans Frontieres : Globalisation And The End Of Work -- Conclusion : The End Of Work As Critical Social Theory. Edward Granter. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. This indispensable volume for all serious Durkheim scholars includes English translations of papers previously published in French for the first time, and will be of interest to sociologists, anthropologists, social historians and those interested in critical questions of modernity."--pub. desc This title examines the development and sociological significance of the idea that work is being eliminated through the use of automated production technology. Combining history of ideas with social theory, the book considers the manner in which the 'end of work' thesis has developed Revealing the extent to which scholars are seeking to understand issues through the sociology of Max Weber, this book discusses the relevance of Weber's thought to contemporary cultural and political questions. It comprises methodological reflection on Weber's historical sociology