Günter Dux

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Günter Dux (born June 23, 1933 in Blomberg ) is a German sociologist and social theorist. In the German-speaking post-war sociology, the "historical-genetic theory" he developed is one of the "demanding and pioneering large sociological theories" ( Wolfgang Eßbach ), alongside the similarly complex and comprehensive theoretical architectures of Jürgen Habermas ' "Theory of Communicative Action" and Niklas Luhmann's "System Theory" .

Günter Dux

Life

Günter Dux studied 1954-1959 jurisprudence in Heidelberg and Bonn and received his doctorate in 1962 at the University of Bonn to Dr. jur. From 1965 to 1968 he studied sociology and philosophy at the Johann Wolfgang Goethe University in Frankfurt am Main ; In 1972 he completed his habilitation in the field of sociology and social philosophy at the University of Konstanz . From 1973 to 1974 he was a full professor at the University of Linz ( Austria ) before he was appointed professor of sociology at the Institute for Sociology at the Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg , where he then also held the position of director of the institute. In 1997 he retired and since then he has devoted himself increasingly to the further development of the “historical-genetic theory”. In the 1997/98 academic year, he headed the “Theory of Social Change” research group at the Center for Interdisciplinary Research at Bielefeld University. In the academic year 1994 Dux held the Leibniz Professorship at the University of Leipzig.

Work characterization

Two questions run through Günter Dux's entire work. On the one hand, he is concerned with a constitutional theory of the social , that is, the crucial question for any historically and socially-evolutionarily oriented sociology of social change, how the meaningful-intentional sociocultural way of life of man (his " culture ") emerges from a meaningless biological anthropological starting position (of " nature ") could arise. For this purpose, Dux developed an anthropologically founded sociology of knowledge as the core of a social theory, dealing with and criticizing philosophical anthropology , particularly with reference to Helmuth Plessner . He ties in closely with Jean Piaget's groundbreaking genetic epistemology by systematically starting with the ontogenetic development of empirical subjects, ie with the individual development of newborn people from a cultural zero position, but adding the social conditions of cognitive genesis. This means that the primary environment, consisting of social beings, into which people are born, is assigned a central value for their ontogenetic development. In simple terms: cognitive and emotional individual development is dependent on the social environment; It is also structured by these, however, because the social conditions of the structure enter into the cognitive structures.

Second, he is interested in developing a sociological theory of history and social change . For these, Dux reconstructs the historical development from the earliest, still relatively simple forms of social organization, through their different civilizational and cultural forms of expression in history, to their complex, modern, systemically differentiated design. The development process is understood as a sequential, but by no means “progress” -oriented building process, namely in the sense of a time-shifted interlocking of socio-structural developments and the training and further education of the meaningful structures of knowledge. As in other sociological theories (e.g. Pierre Bourdieus or Niklas Luhmanns), the focus is on the relationship between social and cognitive structures, which is neither deterministic nor easy to parallelize .

Both questions can only be pursued within the framework of a reconstructive and procedural methodology that Dux has conceived and refined over the years. His central formulation in this regard is (Dux 2000, p. 28):

“I combine the strategy of making the constructiveness of the human mind understandable through its educational process and thereby making the constructive forms in which we find societies and cultures in history transparent with the concept of a“ historical-genetic theory ”. "

The implications of this cognitive strategy can be represented using the terms naturalism, constructivity, processuality and historicity . The historical-genetic theory is a naturalistically linked theory insofar as it assumes that the sociocultural form of life based on structures of meaning must be argued as a follow-up organization from a phylogenetic forerunner. It therefore finds its starting point in an empirically determinable biological starting position, which is however still understood as meaningless. The historically found, diverse forms of knowledge, life and organization are due to the emergence of constructive faculties, which in turn could only be developed under the specific social forms in which human development is set in motion. In line with philosophical anthropology, Dux assumes that instinct control has receded into the background in humans and that the behavioral patterns that ensure survival must first be built up through cultural learning processes. The forms once developed must accordingly be relevant and each represent historically bound forms of implementation of the constructive autonomy that characterizes people. To characterize this cognitive strategy for the explanation of the meaningful structure of human worlds, a "realistic constructivism" or "constructive realism" can be used. speak. Finally, processuality and historicity refer to sociology to an empirically linked, radical historical-genetic methodology that systematically takes into account the (social-structural as well as cognitive) conditions under which building processes take place, as well as these themselves.

Work history

The program of historical-genetic theory is indicated early in the essay "Anthropology and Sociology" (1972) and in the habilitation thesis "Structural Change of Legitimation" (1976), followed by a first systematic presentation in "The Logic of World Views" (1982) to find out where the development of the meaning structures is reconstructed. The study “Time in History” (1989) is similar, but it deals with the logic in the development of the understanding of time. The thematically related volumes “The Trace of Power in the Relationship of the Sexes” (1992) and “Gender and Society. Why we love "(1994) can be seen as an example of how genuinely sociological categories (power and domination, social inequality, gender relations, subject formation, normativity, morality) are reconstructed from natural and historical conditions in their educational process and thus the conditions of the possibility of Society are shown.

In his main work "Historical-Genetic Theory of Culture" (German 2000; English 2011) Dux lists the various building blocks (the sociological critique of knowledge, the structural, but not like-minded connection between ontogenesis and history, the development logic of socio-cultural forms of organization and knowledge as well as his structural genetic theory of social change) again systematically. In “Morality in the procedural logic of modernity” (2004), he ties in with earlier studies on the subject of morality - norms - law (“legal sociology”, 1978).

The recently created works “Why then justice. The logic of capital ”(2008),“ From the very beginning: power, not justice ”(2009), and“ Democracy as a way of life. The world after the crisis of capitalism ”(2013) is devoted to the analysis and criticism of the capitalist organizational form of the market society from a historical-genetic perspective.

Dux also earned merit through the publication of Helmuth Plessner : "Gesammelte Schriften" (10 volumes, 1981–1985), through which he could be rediscovered as an important philosopher and sociologist in a certain way.

Impact history

The reception of Dux's work was only hesitant. This shows that the epistemological foundations of his theory construction fit into the contemporary theoretical landscape and the prevailing sociological discourse only with difficulty. So far, there have only been a few debates with the theoretical architecture or with sub-questions.

Fonts (selection)

  • Anthropology and sociology. In: Cologne journal for sociology and social psychology. 24, 3, 1972, pp. 425-454.
  • Structural change in legitimation. Alber, Freiburg et al. 1976, ISBN 3-495-47325-4 . (= Collected Writings. Volume 7, Springer VS, Wiesbaden 2018, ISBN 978-3-658-17376-0 )
  • Legal sociology. Kohlhammer, Stuttgart / Berlin / Cologne / Mainz 1978, ISBN 3-17-002032-3 .
  • The logic of world views. Structures of meaning in the course of history. Suhrkamp, ​​Frankfurt am Main 1982, ISBN 3-518-07970-0 . (= Collected Writings. Volume 3, Springer VS, Wiesbaden 2017, ISBN 978-3-658-17354-8 ).
  • The time in history. Your logic of development from myth to world time. With cross-cultural studies in Brazil (J. Mensing), India (G. Dux, K. Kälble, J. Messmer) and Germany (B. Kiesel). Suhrkamp, ​​Frankfurt am Main 1989, ISBN 3-518-58000-0 . (= Collected Works. Volume 4, Springer VS, Wiesbaden 2017, ISBN 978-3-658-17439-2 ).
  • The trace of power in relation to the sexes. About the origin of inequality between women and men. Suhrkamp, ​​Frankfurt am Main 1992, ISBN 3-518-58123-6 .
  • Gender and Society. Why we love The romantic love after losing the world. Suhrkamp, ​​Frankfurt am Main 1994, ISBN 3-518-58169-4 .
  • Historical-genetic theory of culture. Unstable worlds. On the procedural logic in cultural change. Velbrück, Weilerswist 2000, ISBN 3-934730-11-6 . (Study edition: 2005, ISBN 3-934730-96-5 . (= Gesammelte Schriften. Volume 2, Springer VS, Wiesbaden 2017, ISBN 978-3-658-16417-1 ))
  • Morality in the procedural logic of modernity. Why we should do what we should. Velbrück, Weilerswist 2004, ISBN 3-934730-84-1 . (= Collected Writings. Volume 5, Springer VS, Wiesbaden 2018, ISBN 978-3-658-17370-8 )
  • Why then justice. The logic of capital. Politics in conflict with the economy. Velbrück, Weilerswist 2008, ISBN 978-3-938808-40-5 .
  • Right from the start: power, not justice. Studies on the genesis and historical development of the postulate of justice. Velbrück, Weilerswist 2009, ISBN 978-3-938808-49-8 .
  • Historico-genetic theory of culture. On the processual logic of cultural change. Transcript-Verlag, Bielefeld 2011, ISBN 978-3-8376-1513-5 .
  • Democracy as a way of life. The world after the crisis of capitalism. Velbrück, Weilerswist 2013, ISBN 978-3-942393-43-0 .
  • The evolution of the human form of life as a spiritual form of life. Act. Think. Speak. (= Collected Writings. Volume 1). Springer VS, Wiesbaden 2017, ISBN 978-3-658-15451-6 .
  • Religion in the secular world. (= Collected Writings. Volume 6). Springer VS, Wiesbaden 2018, ISBN 978-3-658-17378-4 .

literature

  • Falk Wagner , Michael Murrmann-Kah (ed.): End of religion - religion without end. On the theory of "intellectual history" by Günter Dux. Passagen Verlag, Vienna 1995, ISBN 3-85165-208-8 .
  • Christopher Linden: On the development of images of the world and of God. A fundamental theological examination of Günter Dux's worldview theory. Lang, Frankfurt am Main / Berlin / Bern / New York / Paris / Vienna 1998, ISBN 3-631-33025-1 .
  • Discussion unit on Günter Dux - historical-genetic theory of morality. Morality in the Schism of Logics. In: Ethics and Social Sciences. 11, 1, 2000.
  • Ulrich Wenzel, Bettina Bretzinger, Klaus Holz (eds.): Subjects and society - on the constitution of sociality. Velbrück, Weilerswist 2003, ISBN 3-934730-65-5 .
  • Karsten Laudien : Günter Dux, From the very beginning (justice). Review. In: http://www.socialnet.de/rezensions/8041.php
  • Nikos Psarros, Pirmin Stekeler-Weithofer , Georg Vobruba (eds.): The development of social reality. Controversy with the historical-genetic theory of society. Velbrück, Weilerswist 2003, ISBN 3-934730-65-5 .
  • Gerda Bohmann, Heinz-Jürgen Niedenzu (Ed.): Market - Inclusion - Justice. On the problem of social justice in a market society. (= Special issue of the Austrian Journal for Sociology. No. 11/2012). Springer VS, Wiesbaden 2012, ISBN 978-3-531-18797-6 .
  • Gerda Bohmann, Heinz-Jürgen Niedenzu: The historical-genetic theory is 40 and its author is 80. For Günter Dux's birthday. In: Sociology. 42, 3, 2013, pp. 341-346.
  • Heinz-Jürgen Niedenzu: Sociogenesis of Normativity. On the emergence of a new mode of social organization. Velbrück, Weilerswist 2012, ISBN 978-3-942393-27-0 .
  • Ulrich Bröckling, Axel T. Paul (ed.): Enlightenment as a task of the humanities and social sciences. Contributions for Günter Dux. Beltz Juventa, Weinheim, Basel 2019. ISBN 978-3-7799-6118-5 .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Wolfgang Eßbach: Laudation for Professor Dr. Günter Dux on his 65th birthday on June 23, 1998.
personal data
SURNAME Dux, Günter
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German sociologist
DATE OF BIRTH June 23, 1933
PLACE OF BIRTH Blomberg