Structuring and imaginary: between Giddens and Castoriadis

This article construes Anthony Giddens’ theory of structuration as an unfinished project to formulate an ontology of contingency. This interpretation renews the interest on his writings, in particular on those from the theoretical period (1971-1984), but also reveals a rarely discussed weakness: the...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autor: Cristiano, Javier L.
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Estado:Versión publicada
Fecha de publicación:2012
País:México
Institución:UNIVERSIDAD NACIONAL AUTÓNOMA DE MÉXICO
Repositorio:Revista Mexicana de Ciencias Políticas y Sociales
Idioma:español
OAI Identifier:oai:ojs.pkp.sfu.ca:article/30462
Acceso en línea:https://www.revistas.unam.mx/index.php/rmcpys/article/view/30462
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:contingency
action
creation
event
social significations
A. Giddens and C. Castoriadis
contingencia
acción
creación
acon- tecimiento
significaciones sociales
A. Giddens y C. Castoriadis
Descripción
Sumario:This article construes Anthony Giddens’ theory of structuration as an unfinished project to formulate an ontology of contingency. This interpretation renews the interest on his writings, in particular on those from the theoretical period (1971-1984), but also reveals a rarely discussed weakness: the subsumption of meaning to the notion of “rule”. As a consequence, only low intensity contingencies come under consideration, leaving no room for “events”, and this undercuts the ability to interpret social change. After explaining this critique, the article proposes an expansion of Giddens’ ideas in light of a different ontology of contingency: the one offered by Cornelius Castoriadis. Under this ontology disruptive events become the focus of attention. As a result of this analysis, Giddens’ approach devtructure andelops into a broader and more dynamic consideration of the relationship between structure and action.