The main purpose of this article is to contribute to the methodological reflection on diagnosis of the times. Such reflection is generally lacking and the main reason is that diagnosis of the times is often confused with description of society, the article argues. Building on social-analytical diagnostics the hypothesis of the article is that diagnosis of the times and description of society are two diametrically opposed kinds of analytical strategies: to diagnose the times is not about describing the existing society, but about diagnosing transformations of the conditions of the times. The object of this diagnosis is thus indications in the times (tendencies) of transformations of the field of possibility for the times (conditions), whereas the object of description of society in the social sciences is the actual social institutions and structures and the actual social actors. The article engages in discussions of the methodological reflections of Ulrich Beck and others carrying out diagnosis of the times. Finally the article gives examples of social-analytical diagnosis of anorexia and creativity in education.
Language: en
LA - en SN - 0011-3921 UR - http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0011392114556577 ID - ref1 ER -