304 research outputs found
Dynamic Stabilization, the Triple A. Approach to the Good Life, and the Resonance Conception
A society is modern when it operates in a mode of dynamic stabilization, i.e., when it systematically requires growth, innovation and acceleration in order to maintain its socio-economic and institutional status quo. Within this frame, this essay presents an analysis of modern society that explains the structural features which lead into this escalatory cycle. Secondly, it identifies the corresponding cultural âimperatives for growthâ that translate the structural requirement of growth, acceleration and innovation into a strategic necessity in the humansâ search for a good life. Thirdly, it presents an alternative conception of the good life, based on the concept of resonance, which also proves to be an indispensable tool for a critique of social conditions.Une sociĂ©tĂ© est moderne lorsquâelle opĂšre dans un mode de stabilisation dynamique, câest-Ă -dire lorsquâelle exige systĂ©matiquement la croissance, lâinnovation et lâaccĂ©lĂ©ration afin de maintenir son statu quo socio-Ă©conomique et institutionnel. Dans ce cadre, cet essai prĂ©sente une analyse de la sociĂ©tĂ© moderne expliquant les caractĂ©ristiques structurelles qui conduisent Ă ce cycle dâescalade. DeuxiĂšmement, il identifie les « impĂ©ratifs culturels » correspondants qui traduisent lâexigence structurelle de la croissance, de lâaccĂ©lĂ©ration et de lâinnovation en une nĂ©cessitĂ© stratĂ©gique pour les individus dans leur quĂȘte dâune « bonne » vie. TroisiĂšmement, il prĂ©sente une conception alternative du bien-ĂȘtre, fondĂ©e sur le concept de rĂ©sonance, qui sâavĂšre aussi un outil indispensable pour une critique des conditions sociales
Terrorists and high-speed surfers: towards a sociological conception of performative identity
"Dieser Beitrag untersucht die Auswirkungen des gesellschaftlichen Wandels von der FrĂŒh- ĂŒber die Hoch- zur SpĂ€tmoderne auf die zeitliche Konstitution des Lebenslaufs, der Biographie und der personalen IdentitĂ€t. Er rekonstruiert zunĂ€chst die inhĂ€rent zeitliche Verfasstheit jeglicher IdentitĂ€t und versucht dann nachzuweisen, dass die 'klassische' Form stabiler moderner IdentitĂ€t nur vor dem Hintergrund eines generationalen Tempos des sozialen Wandels plausibel und realisierbar ist. Weil jedoch als ein Effekt der sozialen Beschleunigung die VerĂ€nderungsraten in den Beziehungsmustern und Praxisformen inzwischen eine intra-generationale Geschwindigkeit erreicht haben, sind die spĂ€tmodernen Biographie- und IdentitĂ€tsmuster zu einer Anpassung gezwungen. Diese Anpassung erfolgt in Form eines Ăbergangs von stabilen personalen zu neuartigen situativen oder 'performativen' IdentitĂ€ten. Im letzten Teil des Beitrags werden deshalb vier empirisch beobachtbare Typen solcher performativer IdentitĂ€t vorgestellt und diskutiert." (Autorenreferat)"This essay explores the transformative effects of social evolution from pre- or early to late-modern societies on the temporality of the life-course and on the temporal patterns of identity. It takes the temporal fabric of all forms of identity as its starting point. The main claim it seeks to establish is that the 'classical' form of modern identity, i.e. the conception of a stable personal identity, is tied up with the generational pace of social change. However, due to the effects of social acceleration the rates of change and social innovation have crossed the threshold to an intra-generational pace of change. Because of the resulting instability in the patterns of association and the culturally relevant forms of knowledge and practice, the forms of identity and the temporalities of the life-course are forced to adapt. As a consequence, the modern conception of personal identities is about to be replaced by new forms of 'performative identity'. Four empirically observable types of such an identity are presented and discussed in the concluding section of this contribution." (author's abstract
Social Media Filters and Resonances: Democracy and the Contemporary Public Sphere
Democratic conceptions of politics are tacitly or explicitly predicated upon a functioning arena for the formation of public opinion in an associated media-space. Policy-making thus requires a reliable connection to processes of âpublicâ will formation. These processes formed the focus for Habermasâs influential study on the public sphere. This contribution presents a look at more recent âstructural transformationâ, the causes of which are by no means limited to social media communication, and examines its consequences. It proceeds in three steps: 1) in some proximity to Habermas, but also by means of the theory of resonance, it seeks to determine the kind of public sphere that a democratic polity requires; 2) an analysis of problems within the contemporary public sphere will feed into 3) a discussion of the conditions for the restoration of a âfunctioning political public sphereâ. These include changes in the realms of participation, representation and spaces of encounter
Immer mehr verpasste Optionen: Zeitstrukturen in der Beschleuningungsgesellschaft
Der Autor diagnostiziert eine dreifache Beschleunigungsdynamik unserer Gesellschaft: eine technische Beschleunigung mit der Folge einer
"Raumvernichtung", einen beschleunigten sozialen Wandel, der in eine "Gegenwartsschrumpfung" mĂŒndet, sowie -als Resultat aus beidem- eine
Beschleunigung in der subjektiven Zeitwahrnehmung. Die Bewegungsgesellschaft erzeuge so einen Druck,
möglichst viele Optionen des Lebens zu realisieren. Der Autor zeigt auf, dass nur der Verzicht auf die Optionsausschöpfung eine Steigerung der Lebens und ErlebnisqualitÀt bewirken kann. Denn prinzipiell werde das VerhÀltnis von verwirklichten zu verwirklichbaren
Optionen immer ungĂŒnstiger. Erlebnisse lieĂen sich aber gerade auch durch Entschleunigung und Verlangsamung intensivieren.The author diagnoses the dynamics of acceleration in our society in three parts: technological acceleration, which results in a "destruction of space", accelerated social change, which leads to a "shrinkage of the present", and -as a result of both of these trends- an acceleration in the subjective perception of time. The "society on the move" creates a pressure to make use of as many options in life as possible. The author shows that only deciding not to exploit all these options can help enhance the quality of life and its experience, as in principle the ratio of options taken to options which could be taken is becoming increasingly negative. But experience can also be intensified, especially by slowing things down and deceleration
Die Gesellschaft der SingularitÀten 8: Dynamische Stabilisierung oder metrische Singularisierung?
Andreas Reckwitz: Die Gesellschaft der SingularitÀten: Zum Strukturwandel der Moderne. Berlin: Suhrkamp 2017. 978-3-518-58706-
Zwischen den StĂŒhlen. Das Berliner Journal fĂŒr Soziologie in der gesellschaftlichen Transformation und Refiguration
Friedrich-Schiller-UniversitÀt Jena (1010)Peer Reviewe
Zeitwohlstand: Wie wir anders arbeiten, nachhaltig wirtschaften und besser leben
Was ist heutzutage eigentlich Wohlstand? Wie können wir leben, so dass es allen Menschen gut geht und wir innerhalb der ökologischen Grenzen wirtschaften? Die Lösung könnte in einer anderen WertschĂ€tzung von Zeit liegen. Die Autor_innen stellen deshalb die Frage, was eigentlich ein gutes Leben ist und betrachten die Rolle von Zeit, Arbeit und einer intakten Umwelt fĂŒr unser Wohlbefinden. Leicht verstĂ€ndlich und doch fachlich fundiert bietet das Buch einen anregenden Einstieg in die Debatte um nachhaltiges Wirtschaften und entwickelt Visionen einer gerecht gestalteten Zukunft. Und falls Sie gerade zwei supraleitfĂ€hige Rohre und etwas Helium zur Hand haben, können Sie mit der enthaltenen Anleitung sogar eine Zeitmaschine bauen
No scientific consensus on GMO safety
A broad community of independent scientific researchers and scholars challenges recent claims of a consensus
over the safety of genetically modified organisms (GMOs). In the following joint statement, the claimed consensus
is shown to be an artificial construct that has been falsely perpetuated through diverse fora. Irrespective of
contradictory evidence in the refereed literature, as documented below, the claim that there is now a consensus on
the safety of GMOs continues to be widely and often uncritically aired. For decades, the safety of GMOs has been a
hotly controversial topic that has been much debated around the world. Published results are contradictory, in part
due to the range of different research methods employed, an inadequacy of available procedures, and differences
in the analysis and interpretation of data. Such a lack of consensus on safety is also evidenced by the agreement of
policymakers from over 160 countries - in the UNâs Cartagena Biosafety Protocol and the Guidelines of the Codex
Alimentarius - to authorize careful case-by-case assessment of each GMO by national authorities to determine
whether the particular construct satisfies the national criteria for âsafeâ. Rigorous assessment of GMO safety has been
hampered by the lack of funding independent of proprietary interests. Research for the public good has been
further constrained by property rights issues, and by denial of access to research material for researchers unwilling
to sign contractual agreements with the developers, which confer unacceptable control over publication to the
proprietary interests.
The joint statement developed and signed by over 300 independent researchers, and reproduced and published
below, does not assert that GMOs are unsafe or safe. Rather, the statement concludes that the scarcity and
contradictory nature of the scientific evidence published to date prevents conclusive claims of safety, or of lack of
safety, of GMOs. Claims of consensus on the safety of GMOs are not supported by an objective analysis of the
refereed literature
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