Beyond Critical Sociology: Bourdieu's Positivism and the Sociology of Critique

The aim of this communication is to demonstrate the value of French sociology of critique as a post-Bourdieusian critical sociology. We first show why this sociological paradigm correctly highlights positivistic elements within the Bourdieuian paradigm. Bourdieu’s epistemological barrier between scientists and ordinary actors implies that critical sociologists’ judgments are scientifically true and must be distinguished from the latter’s own understandings of his/her action. This is epistemologically and normatively unsound due to the scientist’s own position within the social milieu. We then propose that critical scholars adopt the sociology of critique approach. This takes actors’ understandings of motivations and actions seriously, minimizing the distance between sociologists’ and actors’ understandings of the social world, better representing people’s social reality. This richer, more reflexive portrait of social life places social scientists in an advantageous position to understand and critically engage with the individuals and communities whom we study.