Ritual: Communication in Action
A critique of Jürgen Habermas's evolutionary narrative of communicative action is presented. According to Habermas, ritual has declined as a medium of communication due to the growth of rational discourse. Contrary to Habermas, it is shown here that rituals have a continuing importance in conte...
| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
1992
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| In: |
Sociological analysis
Year: 1992, Volume: 53, Issue: 4, Pages: 363-374 |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (JSTOR) Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Parallel Edition: | Non-electronic
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| Summary: | A critique of Jürgen Habermas's evolutionary narrative of communicative action is presented. According to Habermas, ritual has declined as a medium of communication due to the growth of rational discourse. Contrary to Habermas, it is shown here that rituals have a continuing importance in contemporary religious and social life, for three reasons that are not adequately treated in his theory: (1) Rituals help to define alternative realities that are outside the totalizing world views of modern elites and the institutions they control. (2) Where a range of possibly irreconcilable interests exists, rituals may be the most effective means for generating unity via feelings of identification that are detached from critical reasoning. (3) Rituals have not been completely displaced by discourse, because rituals themselves have evolved in response to changing social conditions. |
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| ISSN: | 2325-7873 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Sociological analysis
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.2307/3711433 |