Civil Sphere Normativity: Recovering Culture after the Cognitive Turn

• In Event: Theory Section Refereed Roundtables
  In Refereed Roundtable (60 minute): Table 11

Abstract

This article advances sociological theory by identifying the normative foundations of civil sphere theory and linking them to philosophical thinking on epistemic normativity. This move clarifies how the concept of meaning carries an inherent moral/normative base. It further highlights that the social world is characterized by what we call civil sphere normativity. Civil sphere normativity is an “oughtness” that grounds collective life and situates civil sphere dynamics of solidarity and boundary-making in the normative aspects of meaning itself. As proof in concept of the theory, this article demonstrates that civil sphere normativity addresses critiques of the cognitive turn. The cognitive turn, exemplified by dual-process frameworks (DPF), has advanced the study of personal culture as an element of individual cognition. Critics have noted that this approach to culture neglects the systemic, normative dimensions of public culture. By emphasizing civil sphere normativity as the connective tissue of social life, this article provides a conceptual bridge between individual cognitive processes and collective cultural systems. Civil sphere normativity provides an explanation for why personal and public cultures are interdependent: the normative and moral pressures of mutual participation in interpretive social life mediate their relationship. This approach not only critiques the limitations of methodological individualism but also advances a more comprehensive understanding of the cultural foundations of sociality and civil solidarity.

Author

• Andrea M. Voyer, Stockholm University