CHAPTER X ART AS A PART OF THE SOCIO-CULTURAL REALITY OF THE LIFE-WORLD (Applied Social Theory) 1. Introductory remarks. Redefining Sociology. This chapter should start with three questions: First, what is sociology, an inquiry and an external description of all that is wrong with society or a social science and research into determining the best structure of society? Second, can there be a science determining causes of what constitutes structures of human relationships? And third, can an advanced notion of sociology advance the notion of art, or an advanced notion of art advance the notion of sociology? Since the introduction of sociological studies in schools and university, the most common question raised by students has always been whether sociology should be considered a natural science, or a science at all. The true meaning of science is always inquiry and determination of causes, theoretical organization and economy of energy toward specific ends. From this standpoint sociology can be a science if we recognize the internal logic that brings humans together under a united central purpose, which is optimization and fulfillment of life, which equals to the “pursuit of happiness”. Obviously, there can be no science and no structural design where there are no fundamental philosophical ethical principles, meaning that all sciences, natural or human, must be determined by what constitutes the progressive meaning of humanity as ultimate organization of energy. Without the governing ethical principles in mind, sociology could only take a look at the world and leave things the way they are and surely enough allow intellectual energies to be dispersed in the name of behavioral pluralism. In the previous chapters, I have arrived at the conclusion that all human sciences, in order to contribute to human intelligence, should start with a synthesis of anthropology and before then, with analysis of the natural laws governing our existence thus what I call from the inside-out. Nature is the inside structure; nature is symmetry; nature is balance, equilibrium and economy of energy. If we take example from nature, we understand immediately the ideal meaning o sociology as organization of ideas and of people for the purpose of sustaining and protecting human nature. This is so because the ancient question, “what is man?” is still open and should be posed again and again to trace the actual lines of human existence and human development. The reality of humankind is what implements the principles and the criteria of human nature in ways in which humans can benefit by their association and organization of intellectual efforts. Political trends and cultures should have this point implemented in their programs. Diversities of cultures, for example, can find their common denominator in the name of a natural sociology. A natural sociology thus stems from nature and returns to nature as a progressive notion of efficiency and fulfillment of life itself. Ultimately, sociology should be a study toward improving the organization of human intelligence, namely, the manifold that brings together conscious individuals whose life projects identify with the validity and continuity of substantial values, what Emile Durkheim said: “account for their nature” (1978). From this perspective, any individual belonging to any society should be considered a distinguishable entity of existence when organized according to sound principles. An entity of existence is a value constituted within the larger dimension necessity of the whole, the city, the nation, the world, which is the correct statement to identify the world as a community of individuals aiming at the same end of existential concreteness and pursuit of happiness. Footn note: To support this point, I must again cite Liebniz’s teleology, which furnishes the fundamental Aristotelian explanation of societal organism, (polis) as a structural whole bound by the necessity of all its members united by a common purpose and by the continuity and projection of orderly and efficient forms of existence. From Aristotle to Leibniz and to Hegel, sociology is in essence a study toward good monadic relationships of existence, which looks at the future for efficiency and fulfillment at them as ends in themselves -- a theme also addressed in Kant’s Metaphysic of Morals. Human development occurs foremost because of the meaning implanted in its theoretical philosophical, practical application of the binding moral principles, which are the proven instruments of being and becoming. In other words, apply the true knowledge of an active nature and you will have a perfect society. Life is endless positive existence if maintained in accordance to the natural principles of organization of energy, the same energy that moves people, animals and everything else in the ether. A positive belief in the order of things produces the example of organization of practical ideas, which should not be altered by an unaligned abstract imagination. Causal interdependence with the natural forces that drive human existence should be the force driving and governing human imagination. This point makes people both social products and masters of their own destiny in matters requiring harmonious interaction as opposed abandonment to the sadness of divisions and conflicts. Tracing the genealogy of sociology should be equal to delving into the origins of a kind of philosophy, which embodies the universal principle of association. Animals associate in flocks, herds and shoals. The benefits which bring them together, however imperfect, are all associated with survival and “common good” for which they forfeit in part their individual ends. Footnote: We understood from the previous chapters that there is only one objective way to define “individuals”, which does not apply to animal species outside humans. Human’s pre-set natural disciplines of behavior establish the moral principles of association, which regards the “other”, not as an enemy or a competitor, but as a necessary participant in the spirit of evolution. This was Kant’s and Hegel’s idea governing their major works, which requires a special social consciousness. The natural principle of interdependence must reign supreme in human relationships for humans cannot judge themselves objectively and introspectively without knowing the reasons that keep them together. Only by measuring themselves against the ideal reasons of association, can they realize societies resting on superior laws, which overcome the increasingly greater challenges of collective life. The challenges of societies arise from the metaphysical understanding, which demands greater answers. Thus the experience of association is one of fundamental knowledge of the social consciousness that unites as opposed to the problems that divide social living. Humans have a set of different problems, which challenge both physical and spiritual existence, so different from all other species. A state of social consciousness is precisely the compendium of all the problems that explain human existence, not the unconscious state, which divides and transgresses the governing principles of matter and spirit. Those who can question the physical and the metaphysical worlds of matter and spirit lacking sufficient ground to stand on are not necessarily “super humans” as Nietzsche believed. An abstract and unconscious presupposition, regardless how we look at it will always remain groundless and will not drive humans to self-recognition. The social unconscious both in life and in art is only an instrument allowing countless groundless presuppositions, which will subject humans to contingent disastrous events in which the subject by said uncertain status is being offered a degree of contingent necessity. This last thought tells us that sociology should become a natural science from the perspective of organization and efficiency of the natural laws ruling supreme, to keep in mind that natural laws work according to a fixed determinism for and against the human end; both toward organized and disorganized environment. A researcher must therefore keep this in mind and conduct the research from the inside-out following the natural genealogy, rather than from the outside-in, going against the grain of natural evolution – not for sake of itself, but for the sake of others. This is an excerpt from my book of ARTEOLOGY you may log onto martinipandozy-artaboutart and download the introduction for free.
Posted on: Sat, 16 Nov 2013 20:20:27 +0000