Sociology of Knowledge as Holism

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  • ホーリズムとしての知識社会学
  • ホーリズムとしての知識社会学 : 知識社会学の根本問題の解決に向けて
  • ホーリズム ト シテ ノ チシキ シャカイガク : チシキ シャカイガク ノ コンポン モンダイ ノ カイケツ ニ ムケテ
  • Toward Solving a Fundamental Problem in the Sociology of Knowledge
  • 知識社会学の根本問題の解決に向けて

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Abstract

The sociology of knowledge is generally defined as a field of sociology that inquires about the interrelationship between knowledge and social existence. Therefore, its foundation involves a dualistic composition of knowledge and society or mind and matter. This dualistic composition, however, faces a dilemma when prescribing that every piece of knowledge is socially determined, without any exceptions, as its founder, K. Mannheim asserted. If this is so, both poles of the dualism are knowledge and if a social existence is hypostatized as a relatum of knowledge to be explained, this seems to contradict the proposition of the universal social determination of knowledge.<br> This article is a preliminary study aiming to resolve this fundamental problem in the sociology of knowledge. It proposes a basic orientation of formulating the sociology of knowledge as a knowledge holism. This paper then observes that Mannheim’s sociology of knowledge has characteristic of holism as presented by W. V. O. Quine. In this way, Quine’s holism must conversely be reconstructed as the sociology of knowledge which enables researchers to position A. Schütz’s knowledge theory as a theory that can supplement those of Mannheim and Quine. Schütz’s knowledge theory thus also has a peculiar holistic feature. Lastly, Schütz’s contribution in formulating the sociology of knowledge as a knowledge holism is clarified and the major challenges that remain for solving the fundamental problems of the sociology of knowledge are noted.

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