Structuralism and poststructuralism
Structuralism and poststructuralism
This chapter focuses mostly on the epistemological thought of Pierre Bourdieu and Gilles Deleuze in terms of their persistence in constructing an epistemological understanding of social practice that is free from the burdens of dialectics, reason and rationality.The main bone of contention for structuralism, and soon afterwards, if not concurrently, for poststructuralism, remains the understanding of theory as the bearer of practice or the prioritization of practice instead of theory.In this chapter, I argue that no matter how hard the structuralists and poststructuralists try to avoid dealing with scientific dialectics, or as much as they merely reject it, their thinking still remains within the confines of dialectics. This is especially the case with regard to theory and practice, or the potential of the sciences to realize truth and adopt a certain methodology that relates scientific work to truth.Following parallel lines of evolution, structuralism and poststructuralism relate to a phenomenological perspective on the sciences that intends to reveal a more rigorous science, which is achieved either a priori, as in Husserl, or a posteriori, as in ethnomethodology. Furthermore, structuralism emphasizes the relations of structural elements within a systemic formation, be that of a social, political or scientific nature.
Keywords: Structuralism, Poststructuralism, Habitus, Bourdieu, Deleuze, Practice, Truth, Normativity, Repetition, Adorno
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