Abstract
The philosophical sources of Taylor’s meta-narrative are his own works on the human person and on the hermeneutic methodology of the social sciences. In regard to the former, his views of non-metaphysical human constants as that of being self-interpretive and ethically-bounded selves, have direct impact on the way in which he developed the notion of social imaginaries. As per the latter, Taylor’s views are inspired by a strong criticism of the modern model of knowledge, and by affirming that man knows only in the context of non-thematized frameworks in which he lives. As a consequence, scientific methods of universal applicability should be replaced with ad hoc criteria for interpretations localized in time and space. More concretely, this means that a social scientist, while studying any social fact, needs to take into account three levels of interpretations: that of the meaning already present in such a fact, that shared by the social agent under study with the society in which it belongs, and that due to the social scientist’s own self-interpretations. In Taylor’s opinion, this does not lead to subjectivism or relativism, but the formulation of theories that can defeat others by explaining a phenomenon with more depth or with a wider scope. On the other hand, his closest source among classic sociologists is Weber, with whom Taylor has several coincidences: an interpretive view of sociology, the recognition of the importance of both social and cultural factors in explaining social change, and the use of ideal-types.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Notes
- 1.
He sees himself as an “amateur” sociologist and theologian, “albeit a very interested one,” (Martin 2005: ix). The quote belongs to his Foreword to Martin’s book.
- 2.
He uses sciences of man and social sciences as synonyms.
- 3.
Charles Taylor, personal communication to the author, 19 Nov 2009.
- 4.
These books provide overviews of Taylor’s philosophical work.
- 5.
Taylor finds this philosophical enterprise as “terribly necessary, and also unbearably problematic. It is necessary, because the efforts to elaborate a science of human beings, in psychology, politics, sociology, anthropology (in the narrow sense), linguistics, etc., lean on certain assumptions about what human beings are like, which are often highly questionable” (Honneth and Joas 1988). The quote belongs to his Foreword to such book.
- 6.
Smith also mentions here other similar “constants” such as being embodied, birth, sex, death, moral valuations, narrative identities and moral sources. I will speak of some of them in this chapter.
- 7.
The references are to pieces Self-Interpreting Animals and Interpretation and the Sciences of Man, respectively.
- 8.
The quote is from the piece titled Language and Human Nature.
- 9.
The quote is from the piece titled The Concept of a Person.
- 10.
The quote is from the piece titled Language and Human Nature.
- 11.
The quote is from the piece titled The Politics of Recognition.
- 12.
Taylor argues that any analytical approach to secularization should not avoid history, the process by which we came to be in our present self-understanding and of our place in the world. The latter conditions the former; the very definition of what is it to live in a secular milieu entails a view of how we have overcome a previous condition. This is why he puts together a meta-narrative (2007: 28–29, 573–75).
- 13.
The quote is from the piece titled The Diversity of Goods.
- 14.
The quote is from the piece titled The Diversity of Goods.
- 15.
In this work, Taylor describes the following as being the problems currently operative in modernity: atomistic individualism, the predominance of instrumental reason, and the apathy towards political participation.
- 16.
The last reference is to the piece titled A Catholic Modernity?
- 17.
The reference is to the piece titled A Catholic Modernity?
- 18.
The reference is to the piece titled A Catholic Modernity?
- 19.
For a critique of Postmodern epistemology by Taylor see his piece Overcoming Epistemology (1995: 15–19). A critique of Postmodern moral philosophy is found in Sources of the Self (1989b: 98–103) and in The Politics of Recognition (1995: 252–56). For his views on Foucault see Foucault on Freedom and Truth (1985b: 152–184).
- 20.
The first reference is to the piece titled Interpretation and the Sciences of Man.
- 21.
The reference is to the book’s Introduction.
- 22.
The quote is from the piece titled Interpretation and the Sciences of Man.
- 23.
The quotes are from the piece titled Interpretation and the Sciences of Man.
- 24.
The reference is to the piece titled Social Theory as Practice.
- 25.
Taylor’s insistence on avoiding formalism has provoked a number of criticisms that see in his views a commitment to skepticism. However, the point he is trying to make is that knowledge in the social sciences does advance, but it does so through the comparison of interpretations (Smith 2002: 125).
- 26.
Martin E. Marty (2008) thinks that A Secular Age is an exercise of philosophy of history, whereas Daniel Ross (2009) finds it to be a work of history, phenomenology and sociology. Martin Jay (2009) finds it to be an exercise of Catholic apologetics. All of them find the book’s argumentation as complex, nuanced and non-linear, fact that only is interpreted negatively by Jay.
- 27.
This is an adaptation of a different example given by Taylor in Interpretation and the Sciences of Man (1985b: 28–32).
- 28.
The quote is from the piece titled Interpretation and the Sciences of Man.
- 29.
Ruth Abbey expresses this in a concise formula: “So, in order to understand the person, we need not just empirical information about his race, class occupation, age, background and so on, but also some sense of how he sees himself” (Abbey 2000: 59).
- 30.
The quote is from the piece titled Interpretation and the Sciences of Man.
- 31.
The quote is from the piece titled Interpretation and the Sciences of Man.
- 32.
The quote is from the piece titled Interpretation and the Sciences of Man.
- 33.
The last reference is to the piece titled Understanding and Etnocentricity.
- 34.
The quote is from the piece titled Understanding and Explanation in the Geisteswissenschaften.
- 35.
This concept is taken from Wittgenstein’s Lebenform. By this, Taylor understands the existential “background” in regard to which our words and utterances could make sense. This view is opposed to that of modern rationalism, which sees the human agent as disengaged and considers him as having incorporated into the very structure of his mind the proper procedures for rational thought. In contrast, Taylor believes that human agents are always embedded in a culture, a form of life, that is, are always embodied. These constitute the very conditions of human understanding, in contrast to with which our utterances make sense. He expands on this in a piece called Lichtung or Lebensform: Parallels between Heidegger and Wittgenstein (Taylor 1995: 61–78).
- 36.
The quote is from the piece titled Understanding and Explanation in the Geisteswissenschaften.
- 37.
The last reference is to a piece titled The Politics of Recognition. Taylor has also answered to criticisms against his proposal of convergence in a piece called Comparison, History, Truth (Taylor 1995: 146–64).
- 38.
The quote is from the piece titled Understanding and Ethnocentricity.
- 39.
Taylor particularly comments on the classical work by Peter Winch by name The Idea of a Social Science (1958).
- 40.
This quote and the following references are from the piece titled Understanding and Explanation in the Geisteswissenschaften.
- 41.
Charles Taylor, personal communication to the author, 19 Nov 2009.
- 42.
The reference is to the piece titled Peaceful Coexistence in Psychology.
- 43.
Weber’s quote is from Economy and Society (1978: 11).
- 44.
These are just three passages where this borrowing is explicit.
- 45.
Here Taylor endorses the Weberian approach to the rise of Capitalism while compared with that provided by Marxism.
- 46.
The reference is to the piece titled ‘Objectivity’ in Social Science and Social Policy.
- 47.
The reference is from the book’s Introduction.
- 48.
This reference is to a piece called Lichtung or Lebensform: Parallels between Heidegger and Wittgenstein.
- 49.
This quote is from a piece called The Meaning of ‘Ethical Neutrality’ in Sociology and Economics.
- 50.
Scholars have noted that Weber himself did not comply with his value-free requirement for carrying out sociological research (e. g., Abraham 1992).
- 51.
The most important text for the understanding of this process due to tensions between salvation religion and its ethics of fraternity on the one hand, and the economic, political, aesthetic, erotic and intellectual realms on the other, is Religious Rejections of the World and Their Directions (Weber 1958: 323–59).
- 52.
The quote is from the piece titled The Social Psychology of the World Religions.
- 53.
The quote is from the piece titled Science and Vocation.
- 54.
The quote is from the piece titled Science and Vocation.
- 55.
The first reference is to a piece titled Disenchantment-Reenchantment.
- 56.
This quote is from the Preface to the Second Edition.
- 57.
This quote is from the Preface to the First Edition.
- 58.
This quote is from the Preface to the Second Edition.
- 59.
- 60.
Taylor’s assessment of Capitalism in the United Kingdom by that time is highly critical (Taylor 1960).
- 61.
Taylor has also explored the epistemological difficulties in affirming a general, trans-cultural, theory of conflict, as Marxism does, in a piece called The Hermeneutics of Conflict (Taylor 1988a: 218–228).
- 62.
“By humanism I mean some kind of doctrine about human potentialities which can command our moral admiration,” defines Taylor (1989a: 61).
- 63.
The quote is from the piece titled A Catholic Modernity?
- 64.
Earlier references by Taylor would include the Yugoslavian group Praxis, which explored a version of socialist humanism in the form of a Marxist libertarian theory, and “world systems theory” (Magee 1978: 57–58).
References
Abbey R (2000) Charles Taylor. Princeton University Press, Princeton
Abraham G (1992) Max Weber and the Jewish question: a study of the social outlook of his sociology. University of Illinois Press, Urbana
Caldwell M (2009) Charles Taylor and the pre-history of British cultural studies. Crit Arts 23:342–373. doi:10.1080/02560040903251134
Durkheim E (1965) The rules of sociological method. Free Press, New York
Fraser I (2003) Charles Taylor, Marx and Marxism. Polit Stud 51:759–774. doi:10.1111/j.0032-3217.2003.00457.x
Gadamer HG (2003) Truth and method. Continuum, New York
Honneth A, Joas H (1988) Social action and human nature. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge
Jay M (2009) Faith-based history. Hist Theory 48:76–84. doi:10.1111/j.1468-2303.2009.00486.x
Long DS (2009) How to read Charles Taylor: the theological significance of a secular age. Pro Ecclesia 43:93–107
MacIntyre A (2007) After virtue. A study in moral theory. University of Notre Dame Press, Notre Dame
Magee B (1978) Marxist philosophy. Dialogue with Charles Taylor. In: Magee B (ed) Men of ideas. The Viking Press, New York, pp 44–58
Martin D (2005) On secularization: towards a revised general theory. Ashgate, Aldershot
Marty ME (2008) Review of a secular age. Church Hist 77:773–775. doi:10.1017/s0009640708001480
Marx K (1968) Address of the general Council of the International Working Men’s Association on the civil war in France, 1871. In: Lenin VI, Marx K (eds) The civil war in France: the Paris commune. International Publishers, New York, pp 36–85
Marx K (1971) Labour as sacrifice or self-realization. In: McLellan D (ed) Marx’s Grundrisse. Macmillan, London, pp 123–127
Marx K (1975) Economic and philosophic manuscripts of 1844. In: Marx K, Engels F Marx and Engels collected works: 1843–1844. Vol. 3. International Publishers, New York, pp 231–246
Reckling F (2001) Interpreted modernity: Weber and Taylor on values and modernity. Eur J Soc Theory 4:153–176. doi:10.1177/13684310122225055
Ringer FK (2004) Max Weber: an intellectual biography. University of Chicago Press, Chicago
Ross D (2009) Review essay: a secular age. Thesis Eleven 99:112–121. doi:10.1177/0725513609345380
Smith NH (2002) Charles Taylor: meaning, morals, and modernity. Polity Press, Cambridge
Taylor C (1960) What’s wrong with capitalism? New Left Rev 2:5–11
Taylor C (1964) The explanation of behaviour. Routledge & Kegan Paul, London
Taylor C (1975) Hegel. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge
Taylor C (1981) Understanding and explanation in the Geisteswissenschaften. In: Leich CM, Holtzman SH (eds) Wittgenstein: to follow a rule. Routledge & Kegan Paul, London, pp 191–210
Taylor C (1985a) Human agency and language. Philosophical papers. Vol. 1. University Press, Cambridge
Taylor C (1985b) Philosophy and the human sciences. Philosophical papers. Vol. 2. University Press, Cambridge
Taylor C (1985c) The person. In: Carrithers M, Collins S, Lukes S (eds) The category of the person: anthropology, philosophy, history. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, pp 257–281
Taylor C (1988a) The hermeneutics of conflict. In: Tully J (ed) Meaning and context: Quentin Skinner and his critics. Princeton University Press, Princeton, pp 218–228
Taylor C (1988b) The moral topography of the self. In: Messer SB et al (eds) Hermeneutics and psychological theory: interpretive perspectives on personality, psychotherapy, and psychopathology. Rutgers University Press, New Brunswick, pp 298–320
Taylor C (1989a) Marxist and socialist humanism. In: Archer R (ed) Out of apathy: voices of the new left thirty years on. Verso, London, pp 61–78
Taylor C (1989b) Sources of the self: the making of the modern identity. Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA
Taylor C (1991) The malaise of modernity. Concord, Toronto
Taylor C (1992) Inwardness and the culture of modernity. In: Honneth A (ed) Philosophical interventions in the unfinished project of enlightenment. MIT Press, Cambridge, MA, pp 88–110
Taylor C (1994) Charles Taylor replies. In: Tully J, Weinstock DM (eds) Philosophy in an age of pluralism: the philosophy of Charles Taylor in question. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, pp 213–257
Taylor C (1995) Philosophical arguments. Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA
Taylor C (1999a) Concluding reflections and comments. In: Heft J (ed) A Catholic modernity?: Charles Taylor’s Marianist Award lecture, with responses by William M. Shea, Rosemary Luling Haughton, George Marsden, and Jean Bethke Elshtain. Oxford University Press, New York, pp 105–125
Taylor C (1999b) Two theories of modernity. Public Cult 11:153–174. doi:10.1215/08992363-11-1-153
Taylor C (2002) Language and society. In: Rasmussen DM, Swindal J (eds) Sage masters of modern social thought. Vol. 4: Jurgen Habermas. Sage, London, pp 123–135
Taylor C (2004) Modern social imaginaries. Duke University Press, Durham
Taylor C (2007) A secular age. Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA
Taylor C (2008) What drove me to philosophy? In: The 2008 Laureates. http://www.inamori-f.or.jp/laureates/k24_c_charles/lct_e.html. Accessed 28 June 2015
Taylor C (2009) The philosopher-citizen. In: The immanent frame. http://blogs.ssrc.org/tif/2009/10/19/philosopher-citizen. Accessed 28 June 2015
Taylor C (2010) Afterword: apologia pro libro suo. In: Warner M et al (eds) Varieties of secularism in a secular age. Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA, pp 300–321
Taylor C (2011) Dilemmas and connections: selected essays. Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA
Taylor C (2013) Retrieving realism. In: Schear JK (ed) Mind, reason, and being-in-the-world: the McDowell-Dreyfus debate. Routledge, Abingdon, pp 61–90
Weber M (1958) From Max Weber: essays in sociology. Oxford University Press, New York
Weber M (1978) Economy and society: an outline of interpretive sociology. University of California Press, Berkeley
Weber M (1993) Basic concepts in sociology. Carol Publishing Group, New York
Weber M (2011) The methodology of the social sciences. Transaction Publishers, New Brunswick
Winch P (1958) The idea of a social science. Routledge & Kegan Paul, London
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2017 Springer International Publishing AG
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
McKenzie, G. (2017). Philosophical and Classic Sociological Sources. In: Interpreting Charles Taylor’s Social Theory on Religion and Secularization. Sophia Studies in Cross-cultural Philosophy of Traditions and Cultures, vol 20. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-47700-8_4
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-47700-8_4
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-47698-8
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-47700-8
eBook Packages: Religion and PhilosophyPhilosophy and Religion (R0)