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The Concept of Tradition in the Context of the Theory of Reflexive Modernization
Kondrátová, Lucie ; Balon, Jan (advisor) ; Holeček, Tomáš (referee)
Diploma thesis "The Concept of Tradition in the Context of the Theory of Reflexive Modernization" deals with the phenomenon of the tradition and its influence on the construction of the social order and the construction of individual biographies in the modern era. The thesis rests on the theory of reflexive modernization which is well- known in sociological theory thanks to Ulrich Beck and Anthony Giddens. The present reinterpretations of their papers quite often lead to the incorrect explanation of the current reality. Then, the reality is claimed to be detraditionalized. Using the concept of relativization I reject considering the actual state as the state without tradition. The aim of the concept of relativization, which is supported by the principle of sociological imagination, is to dispute this radical statement. The postulate of relativization is demonstrated on the example of the traditional social forms, such as nuclear family. In a wider perspective the aim of the thesis is to declare the continuing tendencies in social sciences to emphasize only the selected aspects of social reality.
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Critique of positivism in social sciences
Janas, Martin ; Holeček, Tomáš (advisor) ; Balon, Jan (referee)
The aim of this thesis is to present a critique of positivism in social sciences. The first chapter is devoted to a presentation of what positivism is. We also learn that positivism is closely related to neopositivism and that in many definitons of these words, the word "metaphysics" appears. Second chapter is devoted to Peter Winch's book The idea of a social science and its relation to philosophy. Analysis of this book is presented and we are shown many dangers of positivistic approach regarding the investigation of society. A concept of understanding a society is introduced, which is based on understanding given society's rules. Third chapter presents philosophy of sicence from Martin Heidegger. First, the notion of "metaphysics" is explained. Then we move onto the explanation of the meaing of science and technology in modern society. At the end of the thesis, we are presented with a short comparison of Winch's and Heidegger's philosophy. Conclusion includes new possible routes that sociology could take.
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Concepts of "value-action gap" and "knowing-doing gap" on the example of reports on the state of natural environment
Knybel, Ondřej ; Balon, Jan (advisor) ; Hájek, Martin (referee)
Concept "value-action gap" is most often mentioned in frame of behavioral studies of individial approach to ecological issues. Its meaning lies in description of a gap that opens between values claimed by respondents and their consequent actions (people act in accordance with values which are different than those pro-environmental values that they originally signed up to). There also is a concept of "knowing-doing gap" which stems from a different context and describes different situations. Its authors demonstrate how many corporations/firms/organizations employ disfunctional/ineffective management practices and ways of work organization - and all that in a situation when responsible employees and managers know about better practices. Furthermore, those employees are being continually educated about those more effective practices; corporation/firm also has plans of implementation of those done by hired consultants and all those plans would have had better results, should they be implemented. But despite this knowledge and good experiences of other organizations - managers keep on working using old inefective means. In this text I examined whether it is possible to identify a combination of those two concepts/phenomena in a frame of discourse related to expert knowledge about a state of natural...
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Niklas Luhmann and the ecological discussion: a sociological approach to environmental problems
Stehlík, Martin ; Balon, Jan (advisor) ; Holeček, Tomáš (referee)
1 Abstract The bachelor thesis deals with sociological approach to environmental problems in Niklas Luhmann's systems theory and proceeds mainly from Luhmann's book Ecological communication. The first charpter contains a brief summary of various forms of relation between sociology and environmental problems. The main part of the thesis is dedicated to a presentation of Luhmann's general sociological theory and its application to contemporary environmental problems. From Luhmann's viewpoint, it is an issue of the relation between the system of society and its environment. According to Luhmann, the possibilities of a social reaction to environmental problems are limited in two ways: because of the selectivity of social relations to environment and because of functional differentiation, i.e., the creation of operationally closed function systems within the system of society. Subsequently, I complete the explanation of Luhmann's position with the selected comments and critiques of Ecological communication. I also present Ulrich Beck`s theory of risk society and point out its connection to Luhmann's approach, particularly in the case of functional differentiation of modern society.
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Social Theory and the Late-Modern Approaches to the Study Of Culture
Lachmann, Filip ; Balon, Jan (advisor) ; Holeček, Tomáš (referee)
Sociology, social science and human sciences in general are interested in the study of culture since its inception. This concern, however, have transformed over the years and the development of individual disciplines, especially in the 20th century, where the phenomenon of culture has become one of the main indicators of social coexistence. The concept of culture itself represents a very wide range of activities, objects and characteristics tied with the human and his behavior. This work focuses on the process, during which social scientists have begun to perceive the culture no longer just a file or a store of values, but as part of power struggle, hegemony, ideology and oppression in their everyday impact on the scientific knowledge and the creation of social discourse. It notes the rise of critical theory, which arose mainly in the context of the so-called "cultural turn", starting in the postwar period. It records the development of social theory as a discipline combining several approaches, grounded in a larger frame of reference, the main aim is to highlight the difference between social science typical for modernity and more or less postmodern authors, which we nowadays consider the leading scientists and philosophers of the 20th century. This report covers the Frankfurt School of T. Adorno,...
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The Positivism Dispute in German Sociology. The development, main ideas and continuation
Vondráková, Renáta ; Balon, Jan (advisor) ; Petrusek, Miloslav (referee)
Diplomová práce Spor o pozitivismus v německé sociologii. Renáta Vondráková. 2012. Abstract The main theme of the work is the issue of positivism dispute, which is commonly referred to discussions that occurred in German sociology in the sixties. It was a debate between advocates of critical theory, which were Theodor W. Adorno and Jürgen Habermas, and the concept of critical rationalism of Karl R. Popper and Hans Albert. The discussion initially was confined to issues related to the logic of the social sciences, for many reasons, but rather applied to differences between the concepts and challenges of science from the perspective of both the above approaches. Also the description and discovery purposes and contexts that led to the overturning topic discussion are devoted to this work. The aim is to describe the external influences as widely as possible and how it affected the final understanding of the dispute, but also how well the positivism dispute turned the concepts of science in the following period. The first part is concerned with social and historical situation in which the dispute arose. Followed by an outline of key terms that in connection with a dispute likely occur, in fact it is the analysis of major issues. Emphasis is placed on a thorough description of the first two contributions to the...
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Contemporary social theory and its reflection of religion. Concepts of pluralisation and privatization.
Novotná, Hana ; Balon, Jan (advisor) ; Hlaváček, Karel (referee)
This thesis deals with the transformation of secularization paradigm in the sociology of religion. According to classical social theory religion will lose it's influence within the modernization processes of society. However, in the modern social theory we find different views on the position of religion in the society. This thesis deals with the status of religion on the background of pluralization of the society and individualization of human life. I especially focus on the concepts of pluralization and privatization of religion. In this context I present the ideas of P. L. Berger and Thomas Luckmann. Then I present the concept of the status of religion which appeared in the 80's of 20th century and contains the return of religion into public debates, the deprivatization of religion. This concept is illustrated by the thoughts of José Casanova. I use the thoughts of these authors to illustrate the transformation of reflection of religion between classical and modern sociology.
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Construction of Identity in the Emotional Culture
Prýmková, Karolína ; Balon, Jan (advisor) ; Holeček, Tomáš (referee)
Rigorous thesis Construstion of Identity in the Emotional Culture deals with possible changes in the construction of identity of man after the fall of the millenium. The thesis stems from Eva Illouz's description of society which states that our present society is unprecedently emotional and rational at the same time. The goal of this thesis is to advocate the intitial statement, that in this organization of society the main source for construction of identity is no longer the consumption of material goods as it put notable social theorists since the second half of the twentienth century. I do not state that this remarkable era is fully over now, but I would like to point out, that consumption of material goods is loosing its strength in the process of identity construction due to the overall increasing living standards and mainly due to the fragmentarization of lifestyles. Considering the unprecedently high level of penetration of our society with emotion I consider them to be the new source of identity creation.
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Multiculturalism and intercultural recognition in Czech context
Kňapová, Kateřina ; Balon, Jan (advisor) ; Šamánek, Jan (referee)
The work describes and interprets the thematization of the politics od recognition in the context of Czech academic debate. The particular subject of discussion is the concept of intercultural dialogue that develops some authors gathered around the Centre of Global Studies of the Czech Academy of Sciences. Intercultural dialogue is a concept that puts emphasis on creation of new communication levels at meetings of various cultural groups. This concept and the way how is it used in the Czech context is influenced by pre-understanding arising from the nature of Czech society and its relation to cultural minorities. The emphasis on assimilation of these groups and the apparent confirmation of cultural homogeneity of Czech society, which is reflected in the perception of these groups. Thematization of intercultural dialogue in the Czech debate may be a critical response to the relationship of the majority and minorities. Interpretation of intercultural dialogue precedes an explanation of key concepts - recognition and acknowledgment in the multiculturalist politics context. This explanation works mainly with the concepts of recognition by Charles Taylor, and Nancy Fraser.
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Social and cultural interpretations of photography
Makovcová, Hana ; Balon, Jan (advisor) ; Kotík, Michal (referee)
The bachelor's paper Social and Cultural Interpretation of Photography is concerned with social aspects of photography, primarily the way photographs are read, their relation to the social sciences, and the transformation of their functions, from their development to the present time, primarily in relation to the individual concept of the photograph. The text briefly outlines the definition of a photograph as a technical image and the related act of photography, and introduces us to the possibilities of its social examination through visual sociology via visual social facts. It shows photography to be a form of social ritual, a tool for preserving the present and a confirmation of an event, as well as a means of power. It presents the impact of technical reproduction on the mass dissemination of images and the related changes in the relationship to images. It shows the transformation of analogue photographs archived in family albums as a means of preserving family memory and biography, to digital photography that assumes a new role of self-presentation, primarily thanks to the new way of archiving in the virtual environment of social networks, thereby presenting a related theory of individualization.
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