The Sociology of Radical Commitment Kurt H. Wolff's Existential Turn

by Backhaus, Gary; Psathas, George

• ISBN13: 9780739119433
• ISBN10: 0739119435
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2007-02-16
• Publisher: Lexington Books

Summary

This is the first volume to present commentaries on the existential sociology of Kurt H. Wolff--including autobiographical, biographical, exegetic, and creative developmental articulation of his radical thought. The theme of the book connects Wolff to the sociological tradition while at the same time explicates his profound departure from the tradition.

Table of Contents

Figures	p. ix
Preface	p. xi
Introduction and Overview: Amidst the Processual	p. vii
Memorials and Reminiscences
Biographical Profiles: Testimonies from the Heart	p. 3
Places and Continents	p. 19
Locating Kurt H. Wolff in the History of Sociological Thought
How I Came to Sociology and Who I Am: A Conversation with Kurt H. Wolff	p. 37
The Intellectuals' Context: Wolff's Diagnosis and Response Introduction: Reflexive Unmasking and the Tradition	p. 63
Kurt Wolff's Work and its Place in Twentieth-Century Social Thought
Kurt H. Wolff and Sociology
Substantive Reason Versus Instrumental Reason: Wolff's Rejection of Modern Scientia Introduction: What's Cognitive Love Have to Do With It?	p. 77
Kurt Wolff's Epistemology of the Heart
Surrender and Catch and the Question of Reason: Kurt Wolff and John Macmurray
Karl Mannheim in America: The Loyalty of Kurt H. Wolff	p. 93
Existential Truths as Prerequisites for a Globalizing Discourse Theory	p. 115
Scope and Limits of Wolff's World of "Surrender"	p. 137
Inspirations and Further Developments of Kurt H. Wolff's Thought
It's the Body that Matters	p. 155
Surrender-and-Catch and Modern Political Power	p. 171
Individual Transcendence, Media Transformations, and Collective Experiences: An Introduction to my 1984 Interview with Kurt H. Wolff
Surrender-and-Catch and Charismatic Authority: An Interview with Kurt H. Wolff
Presuppositional Surrender-To: Theoretical Explication and a Case Study	p. 181
Life After Kurt H. Wolff: A Case Study of Surrendering-to-Surrender	p. 199
Index	p. 215
About the Contributors	p. 225
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