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A Dialectic of Constitution and Discourse within Marx, Durkheim, and Weber

Tue, August 23, 12:30 to 1:30pm, TBA

Abstract

Marx, Durkheim and Weber theorized the elementary forms, principles and processes which give rise to and define society, coming to different conclusions on how society was constituted and on what basis it was formed. They further differ on the role that they see discourse, ideology for Marx, the common consciousness for Durkheim, and meaning for Weber, playing in society. Discourse, here the term by which we mean to discuss the above terms as one general concept, plays an important and varying role for each theorist in the way society functions and evolves. In order to understand how each of these theorists characterizes discourse, it is first necessary to understand how it fits into their overall conceptual frameworks. Only once we understand where discourse fits within each theorist’s framework can we begin to understand and comprehend discourse as a societal product and force in itself, as well as the prescriptions each theorist propounds for dealing with it. We will proceed dialectically, looking at the negative functions Marx ascribes to ideology, contrasting it to the positive constituting functions Durkheim ascribes to the common consciousness, and then positing Weber’s characterization of meaning as the synthesis of Marx and Durkheim’s discordant views. Overall, we will seek to show that Weber was able to reconcile Marx and Durkheim’s conceptions of society and discourse together in such a way that retains both of their insights while at the same time uniting them together and building off of them.

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