Justice in reality: overcoming moral relativism in Luc Boltanski’s pragmatic sociology of critique

doi:10.1080/1600910X.2018.1472620

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Justice in reality: overcoming moral relativism in Luc Boltanski’s pragmatic sociology of critique

Journal Article•DOI•

Justice in reality: overcoming moral relativism in Luc Boltanski’s pragmatic sociology of critique

11 May 2018-Distinktion: Scandinavian Journal of Social Theory (Routledge)-Vol. 19, Iss: 3, pp 268-285

TL;DR: The pragmatic sociology of critique developed by French sociologist Luc Boltanski in cooperation with such authors as Laurent Thevenot and Eve Chiapello has received increasing attention in recent years as discussed by the authors.

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Abstract: In recent years, the pragmatic sociology of critique developed by French sociologist Luc Boltanski in cooperation with such authors as Laurent Thevenot and Eve Chiapello has received increasing att...

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Journal Article•DOI•

Meaningful Moments at Work : Frames Evoked by In-House and Consultancy Designers

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Tua Björklund¹, Floris van der Marel¹•Institutions (1)

Aalto University¹

10 Sep 2019-Design Journal

TL;DR: In this paper, the activities and perceptions of designers in different organizational contexts are investigated, focusing on design as a competitive advantage for companies, but we know relatively little of the activities, perceptions, and activities of designers.

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Abstract: Design is increasingly recognized as a competitive advantage for companies, but we know relatively little of the activities and perceptions of designers in different organizational contexts...

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2 citations

Cites background from "Justice in reality: overcoming mora..."

...Orders of worth (Boltanski and Th evenot 2006) take an outside-in view on meaningful moments, examining how people critique and justify their experiences to others (Jensen 2018)....
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Posted Content•

The Spirit of Luc Boltanski: Chapter Outline, in The Spirit of Luc Boltanski: Essays on the ‘Pragmatic Sociology of Critique’

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Simon Susen¹•Institutions (1)

City University London¹

03 Nov 2014-Social Science Research Network

TL;DR: A brief summary of the key themes, issues, and controversies covered in each of the following chapters is provided in this paper, along with a discussion of the main issues and controversies.

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Abstract: This Introduction contains a brief summary of the key themes, issues, and controversies covered in each of the following chapters.

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2 citations

Journal Article•DOI•

New Technologies Supporting the Shift to User-Led Approaches in Social Services: A Study of the Implementation of Baromètre

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Sébastien Carrier¹, Opale Robichaud¹, Pierre-Luc Bossé, Alexandre Farrese, Annie Lambert¹ - Show less +1 more•Institutions (1)

Université de Sherbrooke¹

27 Sep 2021-Journal of Technology in Human Services

TL;DR: In this paper, the authors study the implementation of user-led approaches in the field of social services and call for significant change in social service culture and practices, and propose a user-driven approach for social services.

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Abstract: User-led approaches are increasingly common in the field of social services and call for significant change in social service culture and practices. This research1 aims to study the implementation ...

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1 citations

Journal Article•DOI•

The self-society duality in volunteer tourism: An analytical framework for the (post-)pandemic era

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Netta Kahana

01 Jun 2023-Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Management

TL;DR: In this article , the authors show that tourists comprise narratives that intertwine the self-serving aspects of volunteering and multiple beliefs about the common good, and propose an analytical framework through which volunteer tourists' moral views and the relation between self-service and society-serving in volunteer tourism can be explored.

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Journal Article•DOI•

Differentiating natures, connecting environments pragmatic sociology and the emergence of green justifications

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Tomi Lehtimäki, Mikko Virtanen

21 Mar 2023-Journal of Social Theory

TL;DR: This paper examined ecological justifications in French pragmatic sociology, developed by Boltanski and Thévenot, situating it to discussions about materiality, and examined organic agriculture as a case of green critique that has brought ecology to the fore.

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Abstract: As the environmental crisis gains pace, different strands of posthumanist theorizing have aimed to reshape the ecological conditions of human actions. This article examines ecological justifications in French pragmatic sociology, developed by Boltanski and Thévenot, situating it to discussions about materiality. The approach has proven useful for analyzing various controversies as it provides tools for examining how actors coordinate conflict situations and cope with uncertainty. However, previous studies have also raised questions about the applicability of pragmatic sociology in studying environmental problems. These discussions have revolved around the distinctiveness of ‘green’ justifications. In this article, we examine organic agriculture as a case of green critique that has brought ecology to the fore. Our analysis focuses on contestations about organic agriculture and the possibilities of novel green justifications to establish a ‘green reality test’. By combining conceptual work on justifications and empirical analysis of organic agriculture, the study underlines the key task of critically differentiating a new form of worth as meaningfully different from established forms thereof. In so doing, it also contributes to topical discussions of developing social theoretical frameworks for addressing environmental issues.

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References

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Book•

Mysteries and Conspiracies: Detective Stories, Spy Novels and the Making of Modern Societies

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Luc Boltanski, Catherine Porter

10 Oct 2014

TL;DR: The Inquiries of a London Detective and the Inquires of a Paris Policeman are two of the earliest works in the field of policing sociology, and are related to the work of.

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Abstract: * Acknowledgements * Foreword *1. REALITY / versus / Reality *2. The Inquiries of a London Detective *3. The Inquiries of a Paris Policeman *4. Identifying Secret Agents *5. The Endless Inquiries of Paranoids *6. Policing Sociological Inquiry * Epilogue * References * Endnotes

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81 citations

"Justice in reality: overcoming mora..." refers background in this paper

...…latest book translated into English, he further clarifies the concept of world: ‘By the world, I mean “everything that happens” – to borrowWittgenstein’s formulation – and even everything that might possibly happen – an “everything” that cannot be fully known and mastered’ (Boltanski 2014, 3)....
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Journal Article•DOI•

On Justification Work: How Compromising Enables Public Managers to Deal with Conflicting Values

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Lieke Oldenhof¹, Jeroen Postma¹, Kim Putters¹•Institutions (1)

Erasmus University Rotterdam¹

01 Jan 2014-Public Administration Review

TL;DR: In this article, a qualitative study of daily practices of Dutch health care managers (executives and middle managers) is presented, where the authors show how compromises are constructed and how managers are able to solidify compromises, creating temporary stability in times of public sector change.

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Abstract: ____ In the public administration literature, a variety of responses to value confl icts have been described, such as trade-off s, decoupling values, and incrementalism. Yet little attention has been paid to the possibility of constructive compromises that enable public managers to deal with confl icting values simultaneously rather than separately. Th e authors use Luc Boltanski and Laurent Th evenot’s theory of justifi cation to extend current conceptualizations of management of confl icting values. On the basis of a qualitative study of daily practices of Dutch health care managers (executives and middle managers), they show how compromises are constructed and justifi ed to signifi cant others. Because compromises are fragile and open to criticism, managers have to perform continuous “justifi cation work” that entails not only the use of rhetoric but also the adaption of behavior and material objects. By inscribing compromises into objects and behavior, managers are able to solidify compromises, thereby creating temporary stability in times of public sector change.

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78 citations

Journal Article•DOI•

The Left After May 1968 and the Longing for Total Revolution

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Luc Boltanski¹•Institutions (1)

École Normale Supérieure¹

01 May 2002-Thesis Eleven

TL;DR: In various European countries, the relation between 'the left' and 'the right' presents itself today in paradoxical form: the attenuation of the differences at the level of policy making is accompanied by the persistence, if not even strengthening, of the polarisation in terms of verbal position taking and of partisan self-description as mentioned in this paper.

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Abstract: In various European countries, the relation between `the left' and `the right' presents itself today in paradoxical form: the attenuation of the differences at the level of policy making is accompanied by the persistence, if not even strengthening, of the polarisation in terms of verbal position taking and of partisan self-description. To understand this situation, one needs to return to that which constitutes the ideological core of the opposition between left and right. The left remains marked, though not necessarily in an explicit fashion, by the heritage of the quest for `total revolution'. Such quest presupposes a radical critique of the world in the form in which it presents itself, namely as an obstacle to the full realisation of humanity. In this sense, the left is intrinsically connected to critique, and left and right stand opposed to each other in the same way that critique is opposed to celebration. From the second half of the 19th century onwards, the critique of the left was elaborated in pa...

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50 citations

"Justice in reality: overcoming mora..." refers background in this paper

...The idea is that Boltanski and Chiapello view capitalism as an amoral mechanism that seeks to satisfy ‘an imperative to unlimited accumulation of capital by formally peaceful means’ (Boltanski 2002, 7; Boltanski and Chiapello 2007, 4)....
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...…freedom from structures obtained with artistic critique also came with the challenge of re-establishing a regime of justification suitable for this new world of capitalism, that was to an ever-larger extent accommodating artistic critique (Boltanski 2002, 6–7; Boltanski and Chiapello 2007, 345)....
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...This compromise, with its tendency towards nepotism and free market reign, had according to its critics failed to deliver secure conditions for the proletariat, i.e. the workers and their families (Boltanski 2002, 6; Boltanski and Chiapello 2007, 88f, 92ff)....
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...This ideology is what Boltanski and Chiapello understands as the ‘spirit’ of capitalism – a concept borrowed from Max Weber’s views on the importance of a Protestant work ethic for the emergence of capitalism (Boltanski 2002, 7; Boltanski and Chiapello 2007, 10f)....
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...This new form of artistic critique had previously been reserved to circles of romantic intellectuals, but in the capitalist crisis of the late 1960s it played a role equal to that of social critique (Boltanski 2002, 8)....
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Book•

Immanente Kritik: Elemente einer Theorie sozialer Praktiken

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Titus Stahl¹•Institutions (1)

Goethe University Frankfurt¹

01 Jan 2013

36 citations

"Justice in reality: overcoming mora..." refers background in this paper

...The type of critique generated by truth tests echoes the concept of ‘immanent critique’ developed in the tradition of critical theory (cf. Stahl 2013, 375ff)....
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Journal Article•DOI•

Orders of worth and the moral conceptions of health in global politics

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Tine Hanrieder

25 Jul 2016-International Theory

TL;DR: The work of as discussed by the authors analyzes the contested concept of global health through the lens of orders of worth, which are moral narratives that connect visions of universal humankind to ideas about moral worth and deficiency.

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Abstract: The article analyzes the contested concept of global health through the lens of orders of worth. Drawing on pragmatist political and social theory, especially the work of Boltanski and Thevenot, I conceptualize orders of worth as moral narratives that connect visions of universal humankind to ideas about moral worth and deficiency. They thereby differ from the self/other narrative of political identity that is emphasized in International Relations scholarship. Orders of worth do not pitch a particularistic identity against foreign identities, but tie collective identity to a higher common good. They provide tools for moral evaluation and the justification of hierarchy. I use this heuristic to reconstruct four main conceptions of health in global politics: The order of survival, the order of fairness, the order of production, and the order of spirit. Each of them articulates a distinct political identity, as ‘we species’, ‘we liberals’, ‘we bodies’ and ‘we souls’, and implies different notions of virtuous and selfish conduct in the global community. These orders are derived from scholarly writings and the policies of global health institutions. Finally, I discuss the nature of compromises between the four orders regarding contested issues such as health emergencies or digital medicine.

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34 citations

"Justice in reality: overcoming mora..." refers background in this paper

...Over recent years, French pragmatic sociology has developed into a successful research programme applied in several studies across the social sciences from welfare state studies (Kristensen 2013) and public management studies (Oldenhof, Postma, and Putters 2014) to health studies (Ceci and Purkis 2011; Hanrieder 2016) and educational studies (Garnier 2014)....
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...…into a successful research programme applied in several studies across the social sciences from welfare state studies (Kristensen 2013) and public management studies (Oldenhof, Postma, and Putters 2014) to health studies (Ceci and Purkis 2011; Hanrieder 2016) and educational studies (Garnier 2014)....
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