The diagnosis of social pathologies has long been a central concern for social researchers working within, and on the peripheries of, Critical Theory. As this volume will elaborate, the pathology diagnosing imagination enables a thicker form of social critique, fostering research that pushes beyond the parameters of liberal social and political thought. Faced with impending climatic catastrophe, the accelerating inequities of neoliberalism, the ascent of authoritarian movements globally, and one-dimensional computational modes of thought, a viable form of normative social critique is now more important than ever. The central aim of this volume is thus to champion the pathology diagnosing imagination as a vehicle for conducting such timely social criticism.

The first volume to respond directly to the pathologies of recognition debate that has grown in intensity since 2007 Champions multiple ways of conducting social criticism that push beyond the dominant social pathology paradigms in contemporary scholarship Extends social pathology scholarship in discussions of Brexit, far-right populism, and emerging technologies

Autorentext

Neal Harris is Lecturer in Sociology, Department of Social Sciences, Oxford Brookes University, UK.

Inhalt

1. Introduction: Social Pathology and Social Research.- 2. The Pathogenesis of Brexit: Pathologies of British Political Modernity.- 3. Pathologies of Reason in the Digital Age.- 4. Pathologies of Digital Communication: on Right-Extremist Populism.- 5. An Ontological Account of Social Pathology.- 6. Who is Ill When a Society is Ill?.- 7. Pathology as a Politico-Ontological Concept.- 8. Rawlsian Liberalism as a Failure of Critique.- 9. The Revolt of the Maladjusted: Defacing the Currency of Social Pathology Diagnosis in Contemporary Critical Theory.- 10. The Challenge of Postcapitalism: Non-Capitalist Temporalities and Social Pathology.- 11. Conclusion: Considerations on the Future of Pathology Diagnosing Critical Theory. <p