Emotion und Ordnung

The work unfolds the importance of emotions for sociological and political theorizing. The thesis is maintained that emotions are a central element for the theory of social order as well as the explanation of social and political change. This thesis is illustrated with recourse to Max Weber, who is usually perceived as a theorist of societal rationalization. The author shows, however, that Max Weber attributes enormous importance to the emotional foundations of values in his reconstruction of social and political order. With a view to modern positions in the sociology of emotions, the prevalence of social values is traced back to emotion-laden forms of practice that can be described and analyzed within the framework of interaction theory. This conceptualization provides a basis for the concluding discussion on the role that emotions might play in the theory of democracy.

Dr. Florian Weber is a lecturer at the Friedrich Schiller Jena University.