The paper investigates creativity as an attitude on demand from the researcher in a special situation in the research process. The situation occurs when the collected data does not coinside with the antecipated result. Hans Joas understanding of creative action is abolished for the adaptation of the Aristotelian concept of practical wisdom (phronesis) as the foundation for the attitude. The data has to be analysed with the unique and particular in focus in order for new connections and relations to be revealed. An attitude concentrated on revealing the particular in the data is necessary. From there a new attitude takes over that focuses the general on behalf of the particular. The research process is exposed in a parallell text on Scuba diving.
This dissertation examines Alfred Schutz's (1899-1959) approach to sociology, which early in his work he called an empirical science of the thou, with an emphasis on the sociological theory he worked out to strengthen interpretive sociology. Based on a methodological understanding about the possibility of being able to achieve scientific knowledge of the other's, the thou's, context within which meaning is created and action is based, Schutz further developed an interpretive approach which has its roots in Edmund Husserl's phenomenology. This dissertation highlights Schutz's contribution to sociology, both in terms of his own writing and the influence he has had on others, exemplified by Peter Berger & Thomas Luckmann, Harold Garfinkel and Jürgen Habermas. The purpose of this critical analysis is to discern the positive contributions as well as deficiencies in Schutz's sociological theory, as well as locating Schutz's and his followers' perspectives in relation to sociology's methodological foundations. This dissertation primarily takes up two theory of science issues which are related to Schutz's and his followers' perspectives. The first issue revolves around the relationship between the theoretical development that Schutz undertakes through a phenomenological approach to analyzing the reality of everyday life and interpretive sociology's foundations. The second issue revolves around the relationship between Schutz's and his followers' approach and the methodological foundations of sociology. The dissertation is divided into three parts. Part I takes up Schutz's life and approach to sociology. Part II comprises of an analysis of Schutz's contribution to, and influence on, sociology with particular reference to his sociological theory. Part III takes up the issues of sociological theory and the methodological foundations of sociology.
Ethical Differentiation and the Sociological Canon. The topic of this paper is a critical reading of the sociological canon (Durkheim, Weber, Simmel) from the perspective of what knowledge is produced of the ethical dimensions of social relations. The reading is inspired by a current discussion on the basic feature of social interaction: competition or cooperation. With the concept of ethical differentiation I try to describe the multiple ethical positions signifying the classical sociologists as a consequence of their distinction between distant and close social relations.
Based on ethnographic fieldwork on scuba diving, this article explores the social homogeneity characterizing this specific leisure activity regarding questions on how deviance is treated within a group and on what grounds. The consequences of the dangerous context in which the activity is performed on the dyad (one is always diving with a “Buddy”) is analysed with the help of Georg Simmel (1950) and Erving Goffman (1967). The loyalty of the diving companion (the buddy) towards the “right attitude” which governs the activity may be turned against the scuba diver who does not adapt. The buddy is transformed from a friend into an opponent, who, by spreading anecdotes or rumours, questions the character of the scuba diver, which eventually may exclude him or her from the activity. The article also discusses how the “right attitude” in scuba diving is related to the so-called predominant masculine identity (Connell 1995) in a Swedish context.
In the information-society the production of culture and meaning has reached a level of simulation (Baudrillard). With the new technologies developed for the distribution of information (INTERNET, Satellite-TV etc.) this simulated culture and meaning confronts with the intersubjective creation of meaning in face-to-face interaction. The creation of meaning on an individual level is primarily founded on the senses. This meaning is by definition subjective and not necessarily easy to communicate. On the intersubjective level meaning is created through the spoken word. This creation of meaning takes place in face-to-face interaction with an intimate relation to praxis. It is situational, which means that there is constant reference made to a shared reality. This intersubjective creation of meaning is constantly confronted with the production of culture and meaning in the informationsociety. This production is of course aimed at consumers and is therefore produced in order to be significant. But as the globalisation of culture increases so does the distance between the producers and the consumers. There is no shared praxis to which this production refers. We have reached a level of simulation where production refers not to a shared reality, but to differently produced culture and meaning. This constant confrontation between the local intersubjective creation of meaning and the global production of culture and meaning is the field where the fruitful development of culture now takes place. We live in a constant flow, where our creation of meaning takes place under the influence of a global production of meaning.
The purpose of this chapter is to investigate, out of three examples, the possible formation of a societal ethics upon the phenomenology of Merleau-Ponty and how these examples relate necessarily to the societal dimension. For an ethics to qualify as a societal ethics it has to be derived from a practice and be related to or address social problems in this practice (Cortese, 2004). The three examples are: Maurice Hamington’s (2004) attempt to form an ethics upon embodiment; Michael Yeo’s (1992) ethics beyond the philosophy of identity; and Simone de Beauvoir’s (1948) ethics of ambiguity. Out of the three, Hamington’s attempt is the most successful one, since it is based on the encounter with the Other and includes a consideration of the influence of social institutions on the encounter. Yeo’s and de Beauvoir’s attempts lack a genuine societal dimension.
Based on ethnographic fieldwork on scuba diving, this article explores the social homogeneity characterizing this specific sport activity regarding questions on how deviance is treated within a group and on what grounds. The consequences of the dangerous context on the Dyad (one is always diving with a “Buddie”) in which the activity is performed, is analysed with the help of Georg Simmel (1950) and Erving Goffman (1967). The loyalty of the diving partner (the Buddie) towards the “right attitude” which governs the activity may be turned against the scuba diver who does not adapt. The Buddie is transformed from a friend into an opponent, who, by spreading anecdotes or rumours, questions the character of the scuba diver, which eventually may exclude him or her from the activity. The article also discusses how the “right attitude” in scuba diving is related to the so-called predominant masculine identity (Connell 1995) in a Swedish context.
A limited part of sport studies concerns itself with a limited part of sports, viz. the so-called extreme sports. One might expect these modern expressions of the need for physical activity and perilous adventures would generate more interest from sport sociologists and psychologist than is witnessed by the body of publications in the area. It’s reasonable to suggest that studies of phenomena outside the norm, beyond mainstream, is valuable not only for what is reveals of those phenomena, but just as much for what it tells us about the normal, the everyday life most of us live. An illustrative example of this is a new book by Victoria Robinson, established and productive sociologist in the field of gender studies at Sheffield University. The book, with the working title “A Different Kind of Hard: Everyday Masculinities, Identity and Rock Climbing”, was published by Berg Publishers in 2008 without the obvious innuendo as Everyday Masculinities and Extreme Sport: Male Identity and Rock Climbing. Robinsons book, reviewed here by Dr. Åke Nilsén, also a sociologist and researcher in the field of extreme sports, is a study of male climbers and the construction of their masculinity in relation to the everyday male identity. Our reviewer would have liked a macro level analysis, but he is on the whole very positive to Robinson’s effort.
In this paper I would like to challenge the dominating understanding of voluntary risk-taking as activities with a focus on risk (Lyng 2005). Instead I am arguing for a shift in focus from risk to control, which is the outcome of a successful interaction with risk. Based on a case study from scuba diving, I analyse the practice of control as what Foucault (1988) calls a “technology of the self”. With this shift in focus to control, participants in risk activities are understood as practicing a dominating ideal in the neo-liberal society, where the individual is increasingly supposed to be responsible and in control of his/her own life (Simon 2002).
Based on an ethnographic fieldwork this paper explores the relation between technology and masculinity in the context of scuba diving. From a theoretical framework based on Heidegger/Kemp and Wajcman, two major questions are put to the material: How is technology influencing social relations and communication? And: How is technology perceived and handled? The first question is answered out of two angels: Judging performance out of handling the equipment and forming the social hierarchy. The second question is answered: out of a practical knowledge, through embodiment and trust.
Based on an ethnographic fieldwork on climbers this paper explores the relation between the group and the individual in the context of risk-performance. In the subculture of Bouldering (a kind of climbing) the performance of the single climber is dependent on the creativity and cooperation of the group with an ongoing negotiation between the participants. The paper focuses changing gender identities among young male climbers and challenges mainly the concept of "hegemonic masculinity" (Connell) with the help of "performativity" (Butler) and "experience-oriented" actions (Schulze).
I denna artikel diskuteras motionsvanor bland fysiskt aktiva vuxna i Landskrona. Utgångspunkten för resonemanget är frågan om hur förändringar i samhälle och kulturmönster påverkar människors relation till fysisk aktivitet, och hur nya former för idrott och motion kan tänkas uppstå i takt med dessa förändringar. Studien bygger på svaren på den motionsenkät som projektet genomförde år 2000-2001. Författaren arbetar med en kvantitativ statistisk metod och belyser motionsintresset ur flera olika aspekter, såsom kön, ålder och nationell härkomst.
Frågan om idrottens nya former och innebörder är även i fokus i denna artikel. Utgångspunkten för studien är projektets motionsenkät, som kompletterats med kvalitativa djupintervjuer med folk som intresserat sig för extrema fysiska idrottsupplevelser, där tävlingsmomentet ersatts av en individuell riskkalkylering. Artikeln åskådliggör också en triangulerande metod, dvs där författaren med hjälp av olika typer av empiriska fakta analyserar ett föränderligt idrottsintresse, och det samhälle där nya idrottsformer uppstår.