The Sociology of Critique. Towards a Grammatical Approach to Social Action

Cervera-Marzal, Manuel; Frère, Bruno

doi:10.1111/johs.70069

Request a copy

Article (Scientific journals)

The Sociology of Critique. Towards a Grammatical Approach to Social Action

Cervera-Marzal, Manuel; Frère, Bruno

2026 • In Sociology Lens

Peer reviewed

Permalink
https://hdl.handle.net/2268/346031

DOI
10.1111/johs.70069

Files (1)Send to Details Statistics Bibliography Similar publications

Files

Full Text

Sociology Lens - 2026 - Cervera-Marzal and Frère - The Sociology of Critique - Towards a Grammatical Approach to Social Action.pdf

Embargo Until 01/Jan/2027 - Author postprint (469.65 kB)

Request a copy

All documents in ORBi are protected by a user license.

Send to

RIS BibTex APA Chicago Permalink X Linkedin

Details

Keywords :

History; Sociology and Political Science

Abstract :

[en] This study is concerned with the notion of “grammar” as it was developed at the core of Luc Boltanski and Laurent Thévenot's pragmatic sociology. This notion is particularly useful for articulating the normative elements that motivate and justify social action. But a specific case—that of the civil disobedience—has led us to identify an epistemological difficulty that this paradigm cannot successfully resolve in its current state. This case raises a broader question: how can we understand the fact that the common goods invoked by actors to justify their actions do not always correspond to the characteristics of the actions that sociologists are able to observe? To achieve this resolution, and thus, to reverse our fieldwork out of the theoretical impasse into which pragmatic sociology risks driving it, we suggest that the paradigm's concept of grammar should be modified by drawing on Noam Chomsky's concept of generative grammar and Ludwig Wittgenstein's reflections on rules and language games.

Disciplines :

Sociology & social sciences

Author, co-author :

Cervera-Marzal, Manuel ; Université de Liège - ULiège > Département des sciences sociales > Sociologie des identités contemporaines

Frère, Bruno ; Université de Liège - ULiège > Département des sciences sociales > Sociologie des identités contemporaines

Language :

English

Title :

The Sociology of Critique. Towards a Grammatical Approach to Social Action

Alternative titles :

[fr] La sociologie de la critique. Vers une approche grammaticale de l'action

Original title :

[en] The Sociology of Critique. Towards a Grammatical Approach to Social Action

Publication date :

June 2026

Journal title :

Sociology Lens

ISSN :

2832-5796

eISSN :

2832-580X

Publisher :

John Wiley and Sons Inc

Peer reviewed :

Peer reviewed

Additional URL :

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/johs.70069

Available on ORBi :

since 15 June 2026

Statistics

Number of views

30 (0 by ULiège)

Number of downloads

0 (0 by ULiège)

More statistics

Scopus citations^®

Scopus citations^®
without self-citations

OpenAlex citations

Bibliography

Alexander, J. 2005. “Why Cultural Sociology Is Not Idealist?” Theory, Culture & Society 22, no. 6: 19–29. https://doi.org/10.1177/0263276405059412.
Anscombe, E. 1981. “The Intentionality of Sensation: A Grammatical Feature.” In Metaphysics and the Philosophy of Mind: Collected Philosophical Papers II, 3–20. Basil Blackwell.
Barthe, Y., D. de Blic, J.-P. Heurtin, et al. 2013. “Sociologie Pragmatique: Mode D'Emploi.” Politix 103, no. 3: 175–204. https://doi.org/10.3917/pox.103.0173.
Beisel, N. 1990. “Class, Culture and Campaigns Against Vice in Three American Cities, 1872–1892.” American Sociological Review 55, no. 1: 44–62. https://doi.org/10.2307/2095702.
Benatouïl, T. 1999. “A Tale of Two Sociologies: The Critical and the Pragmatic Stance in Contemporary French Sociology.” European Journal of Social Theory 2, no. 3: 379–396. https://doi.org/10.1177/13684319922224473.
Biggart, N. W., and T. D. Beamish. 2003. “The Economic Sociology of Conventions: Habit, Custom, Practice, and Routine in Market Order.” Annual Review of Sociology 29, no. 1: 443–464. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.soc.29.010202.100051.
Blok, A. 2013. “Pragmatic Sociology as Political Ecology: On the Many Worths of Nature(S).” European Journal of Social Theory 16, no. 4: 492–510. https://doi.org/10.1177/1368431013479688.
Blokker, P. 2011. “Pragmatic Sociology: Theoretical Evolvement and Empirical Application.” European Journal of Social Theory 14, no. 3: 251–261. https://doi.org/10.1177/1368431011412344.
Bloor, D. 1997. Wittgenstein. Rules and Institutions. Routledge.
Boltanski, L. 2004. “La Condition Fœtale.” In Une Sociologie De L’Engendrement Et De L’Avortement. Gallimard.
Boltanski, L. 2008. “Rendre La Réalité Inacceptable.” In À Propos De « La Production De L’Idéologie Dominante ». Demopolis.
Boltanski, L., and L. Thévenot. 2009. On Justification: Economies of Worth. Princeton University Press.
Boltanski, L. 2011/2009. On Critique. A Sociology of Emancipation. Polity Press.
Boltanski, L. 2012/1990. Love and Justice as Competences. Transl. C. porter. Polity Press.
Boltanski, L., and E. Chiapello. 2005. The New Spirit of Capitalism. Verso.
Boltanski, L., and L. Thévenot. 1999. “The Sociology of Critical Capacity.” European Journal of Social Theory 2, no. 3: 359–377. https://doi.org/10.1177/13684319922224464.
Boltanski, L., and L. Thévenot. 2006/1991. On Justification. Economies of Worth, Translated by Catherine Porter. Princeton University Press.
Bouveresse, J. 2003. Essais III. Marseille: Agone.
Braudel, F. 1987. Grammaire des civilisations. Arthaud.
Burawoy, M. 2004. “Public Sociologies: Contradictions, Dilemmas and Possibilities.” Social Forces 82, no. 4: 1603–1618. https://doi.org/10.1353/sof.2004.0064.
Chomsky, N. 1965. Aspects of the Theory of Syntax. MIT Press.
Clarke, A. 1987. “Moral Protest, Status Defense and the Anti-Abortion Campaign.” British Journal of Sociology 38, no. 2: 235–253. https://doi.org/10.2307/590534.
Corrêa, D. S., and R. Castro Dias. 2020. “The Critique and its Critical Moments: The Recent Pragmatic Turn in French Sociology.” Current Sociology 68, no. 6: 721–737. https://doi.org/10.1177/0011392120914702.
Croce, M. 2016. “The Habitus and the Critique of the Present: A Wittgensteinian Reading of Bourdieu’s Social Theory.” Sociological Theory 34, no. 4: 327–346. https://doi.org/10.1177/0735275115617801.
Denis, J.-L., A. Langley, and L. Rouleau. 2007. “Strategizing in Pluralistic Contexts: Rethinking Theoretical Frames.” Human Relations 60, no. 1: 179–215. https://doi.org/10.1177/0018726707075288.
Doan, A. E. 2004. Opposition and Intimidation: The Abortion War and Strategies of Political Harassment. University of Michigan Press.
Dodier, N. 1991. “Agir dans Plusieurs Mondes.” Critique 529: 428–458. https://pascal-francis.inist.fr/vibad/index.php?action=getRecordDetail&idt=6131491.
Eder, K. 1985. “The New Social Movements: Moral Crusades, Political Pressure Groups, or Social Movements?” Social Research 52, no. 4: 888–899. https://www.jstor.org/stable/40970400.
Eulriet, I. 2008. “Analysing Political Ideas and Political Action.” Economy and Society 37, no. 1: 135–150. https://doi.org/10.1080/03085140701760916.
Eyigunlu, M. 2023. “Towards a Sociology of Moral Giving: Social Motivations and Functions of Acts of Donation.” Sociology Lens 36, no. 4: 429–442. https://doi.org/10.1111/johs.12431.
Frère, B. 2004. “Genetic Structuralism, Psychological Sociology and Pragmatic Social Actor Theory. Proposals for a Convergence of French Sociologies”.” Theory, Culture & Society 21, no. 3: 85–99. https://doi.org/10.1177/0263276404043621.
Friedland, R. 2009. “The Endless Fields of Pierre Bourdieu.” Organization 16, no. 6: 887–917. https://doi.org/10.1177/1350508409341115.
Gadinger, F. 2016. “On Justification and Critique: Luc Boltanski’s Pragmatic Sociology and International Relations.” International Political Sociology 10, no. 3: 187–205. https://doi.org/10.1093/ips/olw007.
Gandhi 1990. Tous les hommes sont frères. Gallimard.
Goffman, E. 1973. La mise en scène de la vie quotidienne. Minuit.
Grayling, A. C. 2001. Wittgenstein. A Very Short Introduction. Oxford University Press.
Guggenheim, M., and J. Potthast. 2011. “Symmetrical Twins: On the Relationship Between Actor-Network Theory and the Sociology of Critical Capacities.” European Journal of Social Theory 15, no. 2: 157–178. https://doi.org/10.1177/1368431011423601.
Hayes, G. 2006. “Vulnerability and Disobedience: New Action Repertoires and Environmental Protest in France.” Environmental Politics 15, no. 5: 821–838. https://doi.org/10.1080/09644010600937264.
Heinich, N. 2012. “Mapping Intermediaries in Contemporary Art According to Pragmatic Sociology.” European Journal of Cultural Studies 15, no. 6: 695–702. https://doi.org/10.1177/1367549412450634.
Holden, M., and A. Scerri. 2015. “Justification, Compromise and Test: Developing a Pragmatic Sociology of Critique to Understand the Outcomes of Urban Redevelopment.” Planning Theory 14, no. 4: 360–383. https://doi.org/10.1177/1473095214530701.
Jagd, S. 2011. “Pragmatic Sociology and Competing Orders of Worth.” European Journal of Social Theory 14, no. 3: 343–359. https://doi.org/10.1177/1368431011412349.
Keller, R. 2017. “Has Critique Run out of Steam? on Discourse Research as Critical Inquiry.” Qualitative Inquiry 23, no. 1: 58–68. https://doi.org/10.1177/1077800416657103.
King, L., and G. Husting. 2003. “Anti-Abortion Activism in the U.S. and France: Comparing Opportunity Environments of Rescue Tactics.” Mobilization: International Quarterly 8, no. 3: 297–312. https://doi.org/10.17813/maiq.8.3.h735767404671g50.
Lamont, M., and L. Thévenot, eds. 2000. Rethinking Comparative Cultural Sociology: Repertoires of Evaluation in France and the United States. Cambridge University Press.
Lemieux, C. 2009. Le Devoir et la Grace. Economia.
Lewer, K. 2023. “Depicting Bourdieu’s Concepts as a Set of Stackable and Transparent Lenses.” Sociology Lens 36, no. 4: 469–473. https://doi.org/10.1111/johs.12436.
Mathieu, L. 2005. “Repères pour une sociologie des croisades morales.” Déviance et Société 29, no. 1: 3–12. https://doi.org/10.3917/ds.291.0003.
McGowan, J. 1998. “Toward a Pragmatist Theory of Action.” Sociological Theory 13, no. 3: 292–297. https://doi.org/10.1111/0735-2751.00059.
McLennan, G. 2005. “The New American Cultural Sociology. An Appraisal.” Theory, Culture & Society 22, no. 6: 1–18. https://doi.org/10.1177/0263276405059411.
Messner, M., S. Clegg, and M. Kornberger. 2008. “Critical Practices in Organizations.” Journal of Management Inquiry 17, no. 2: 68–82. https://doi.org/10.1177/1056492607305898.
Patriotta, G., J.-P. Gond, and F. Schultz. 2011. “Maintaining Legitimacy: Contreversies, Orders of Worth, and Public Justification.” Journal of Management Studies 48, no. 8: 1804–1936. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-6486.2010.00990.x.
Paulsen Anlsen, M. 2016. “NonNormative Critique: Foucault and Pragmatic Sociology as Tactical Re-Politicaztion.” European Journal of Social Theory 19, no. 1: 127–145. https://doi.org/10.1177/136843101456270.
Rawls, J. 1975. A Theory of Justice. Harvard University Press.
Renou, X. 2009. Petit manuel de désobéissance civile à l’usage de ceux qui veulent vraiment changer le monde. Syllepses.
Silber, I. F. 2003. “Pragmatic Sociology as Cultural Sociology: Beyond Repertoire Theory?” European Journal of Social Theory 6, no. 4: 427–449. https://doi.org/10.1177/13684310030064004.
Stark, D. 2009. The Sense of Dissonance: Accounts of Worth in Economic Life. Princeton University Press.
Susen, S. 2014. “Towards a Dialogue Between Pierre Bourdieu’s ‘Critical Sociology’ and Luc Boltanski’s ‘Pragmatic Sociology of Critique’.” In The Spirit of Luc Boltanski, edited by S. Simon and B. Turner, 313–350. Anthem press.
Thévenot, L. 2014. “Voicing Concern and Difference: From Public Spaces to Common Places.” European Journal of Cultural and Political Sociology 1, no. 1: 7–34. https://doi.org/10.1080/23254823.2014.905749.
Thornton, P., and W. Ocasio. 2008. “Institutional Logics.” In The Sage Handbook of Organizational Institutionalism, edited by R. Greenwood, C. Oliver, R. Suddaby, and K. Sahlin, 99–129. Sage.
Vaisey, S. 2009. “Motivation and Justification: A Dual-Process Model of Culture in Action.” American Journal of Sociology 114, no. 6: 1675–1715. https://doi.org/10.1086/597179.
Venner, F. 1995. L’opposition à l’avortement. Du lobby au commando. Berg International.
Wittgenstein, L. 1969. On Certainty. Blackwell.
Wittgenstein, L. 1986/1953. Philosophical Investigations. Trad. by G.E.M. Anscombe. Basil Blackwell Ltd.
Wittgenstein, L. 1996/1958. Le Cahier bleu et le Cahier brun. Gallimard.
Wittgenstein, L. 2001. Grammaire Philosophique. Gallimard.
Wittgenstein, L. 2004/1953. Recherches Philosophiques. Gallimard.