Knowledge Problems in the Sociology of the 80s

Abstract

The present situation of sociology is discussed It is asserted that what I call approach-based research is becoming more and more common and that knowledge theory is in a state of flowing. These problems in sociology are seen in relation to the 'Zeitgeist' of the 80s: The post-modern energies. Perhaps the reason for these perturbations is that we are living in a late stage of Western civilization. In this stage we are experiencing a crisis of Western rational thought on a deep level where only highly radical ways out are open: Communicative reason, which is Habermas's offer; deconstruction, which is the reaction from French post-structuralism; and transrational reason, which is the answer of the new spiritual-holistic movement.