Robert Meldau and Dr. Stan Knapp, Department of Sociology
The purpose of this project was to use the works of Freidrich Nietzsche, Max Weber, and Charles Taylor to construct a critique of Sociology. Our intention was to argue that Sociology (and all of social science) is a secularized theodicy; an attempt to explain why humans experience suffering. Using the works and ideas of these theorists, we believed we could formulate an argument that questions the legitimacy or correctness of social science’s desire to understand itself as a disinterested, objective endeavor. Our goal was to co-author a paper for publication in a major Sociological journal.
The results of these efforts have been even more fruitful than we first anticipated. After some initial work with Weber, Taylor, and Sociological literature analyzing suffering, the bulk of my efforts have been focused on the works of Nietzsche. I have conducted a survey of his most important works, focusing particularly on The Birth of Tragedy, Twilight of the Idols, and The Genealogy of Morality. Based on my research, I have prepared about twenty-five pages of textual analysis in which I argue that Modernist, Enlightenment-style thinking is a form of intellectual idolatry. This intellectual idolatry is a way for humans to try to cope with the violence and senselessness they face in the experience of human life. Rather than being willing to accept life for what it is and endure suffering, humans construct artificial explanations of the life experience in order to avoid the pain of living fully. But these constructions (e.g. Sociology) pose a danger to human life if their man made origin is ignored and then are unquestioningly taken as real. Unless Sociology recognizes its origins as a secular theodicy and openly admits its inability to objectively answer all of life’s questions, it is of no more worth to humanity than an idol made of wood or stone.
I am in the final stages of completing this analysis. The connections that I have drawn and the arguments that I have made are much more complex and intriguing than any of the ideas that I had when I first planned to do this research. I never would have guessed how much this project would allow me to think critically about society and grapple with big ideas. There is a level of intellectual engagement and a depth of understanding that I have reached which would not have come any other way.
Our project has also been fulfilling for my mentor, Professor Stan Knapp. We were both excited to see how much this research correlates with some of the questions about Scientism, Modernist thinking, suffering, and family studies that he has been grappling with for some time already. He has focused on writing material relating to Max Weber, the Sociological discipline, and the philosopher Jean-Luc Marion for our paper. He has provided great feedback on my writing, constantly asking me question to spur further development and helping me to understand what is expected. He believes that our work has the potential to be a viable addition to the discipline and a unique, needed addition. It seems that the questions and research that have resulted from this project have had a spillover effect and influenced his other research and teaching.
Because of the length and quality expectations that we have for our paper, we are still in the drafting stages of the writing process. Our goal is to have a draft that is suitable for submission for review by the end of this month. Journals where we plan to submit our paper include: Sociological Theory, The Journal of Historical Sociology, and The American Journal of Sociology. We plan to continue working on this project until it is published in one of these journals.