Sociology of Action

Category: Theoretical approaches

British sociologist Bryan S. Turner (1945-) developed his sociological approach based on the sociology of action. The two main categories of his approach are "emplacement" - the relationship of people to the environment and "embodiment" - the relationship to one's own body, and they are universal categories of human experience. Emplacement and embodiment are shaped by a network of social institutions that regulate normative coercion. Emphasis is placed on the situational (historical and comparative) nature of the actions of social actors. Turner believes that sociology should study society, in the way that Durkheim did, that is, as a set of "social facts" that act as external forces that limit the behavior of the individual. On the other hand, actors have the opportunity to question the coercive nature of these external normative and coercive factors (social facts). In this context, he believes that sociology must be a reflective, but also a value-neutral science.

Materialist View of Religion

Turner also applied his theoretical approach to the study of religion. In Religion and Social Theory: A Materialist Perspective (1983), he presents a materialist theory of religion. He believes that religion always establishes a link between the physical and economic aspects of society, but he also believes that it does not always perform the function of ideological justification of power and the domination of the ruling classes. He is critical of the functionalist and Durkheimian approaches to religion, as they overemphasize the importance of religion for social integration. Societies can survive despite conflicts and lack of value integration because the integrative function is performed by economic interdependence, habits, and customs, but also through the employment of physical force. In the age of feudalism, religion was not of equal importance to all classes. The peasantry was mostly indifferent to religion because they mostly practiced a combination of paganism, folk religion, and magic. Religion was important to the feudal lords because it regulated marriage and family relations, and the most important area of regulation was the right to inherit property within the family. Religion legitimized the right of primogeniture, which prevented the division of property, which would lead to the loss of the economic basis of feudal power. In modern society, the importance of preventing the division of property to preserve the economic power of the capitalist class is diminishing, and thus religion loses the significance it had for the ruling classes. On the other hand, religion gained the freedom to tolerate divorce and illegitimate children. The end result of this process of changing the social significance of religion is that it becomes, above all, a personal matter for individuals.

Citizenship and Human Rights

Turner applied this approach in formulating a universal theory of citizenship and human rights. emplacement and embodiment are universal categories in all societies. The need for social ties and the weaknesses of our body are an incentive to formalize empathy in the form of human rights. Also, all societies face economic problems and difficult political decisions. All these factors affect the recognition of the need for a universal approach to citizenship and human rights issues. The state is an important factor in protection, but also in violation of human rights. Other actors are also important: corporations, the media, the medical complex, and the professional class. Turner introduces the concept of cosmopolitan virtue to his study of citizenship and human rights. Cosmopolitan virtue has six dimensions: (1) irony—the recognition of the partiality of perspective; (2) reflexivity— values and action are understood in the context of biography, history, and structure; (3) skepticism—the distrust of totalitarianism and grand narratives; (4) care for others— sympathy, reciprocity, and mutuality,; (5) social inclusiveness—the cohesion of civil society based on principles of care for others; (6) nomadism— travel and displacement are sources of sympathy, mutuality, and reciprocity in civil society.

Social conflicts, economic and political inequalities, and conflicts over values are leading to increasing fragmentation and hybridity in culture, which poses a great threat to social solidarity. Turner also studies the freedom of movement of people between countries and concludes that there is a difference in mobility because there is a big difference in the rights and opportunities of people from different countries to travel or work in other countries.

Sociology of the Body

Turner also applied his interest in the human body to the study of medicine. In his book Medical Power and Social Knowledge (1995), he shows how all societies have developed specific roles related to diseases. These roles prescribe specific patterns of behavior in cases of illness, but these roles and patterns differ significantly between different societies. In Western societies, there are individualized patient roles, for example, one stays in hospitals only when it is really necessary, one stays as short as possible, and the possibilities of visits are very limited. In Japan, on the other hand, disease-related roles are more community-oriented. Patients in Japan stay longer in hospitals, and visits from family and friends are more frequent and longer.

Author: Turner, S. Bryan.

Books:

Turner, S. B. The Dominant Ideology Thesis (1980);

- Religion and Social Theory: A Materialistic Perspective (1983);

- Sovereign Individuals of Capitalism (1986);

- Citizenship and Capitalism: The Debate over Reformism (1986);

- The Body and Society: Men, Women, and Sexual Renunciation in Early Christianity (1988a);

- Status (1988b);

- Orientalism, Postmodernism and Globalism (1994);

- Medical Power and Social Knowledge (1995);

- Conflicts about Class (1996);

- Society and Culture (2001);