Social Figures-Between Societal Experience and Sociological Diagnosis Sebastian Moser, Tobias Schlechtriemen

Social Figures-Between societal experience and sociological diagnosis Sebastian Moser, Tobias Schlechtriemen

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Sebastian Moser, Tobias Schlechtriemen. Social Figures-Between societal experience and sociological diagnosis. 2019. halshs-01972078

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Social figures are an independent element of sociological research – that is the initial thesis of the authors. Sociological diagnoses of present- day life often place the focus of their analysis on emblematic figures because they embody essential characteristics of contemporary society. To give a more precise outline of the sociological meaning of social figures, the concept is placed in the context of related categories of sociology – ideal types, social role, social character, and social figuration. Based on a comparative analysis of these categories, the features of social-figurative representations are identified. The authors demonstrate what social figures do in the context of sociological studies, how they generate evidence, how they can be used in an explorative manner in empirical research settings, and also what the limits of their analytical potential are.

Working Papers Series

Social Figures - Between societal experience and sociological diagnosis

Sebastian J. Moser & Tobias Schlechtriemen Décembre 2018

The authors Tobias Schlechtriemen is a Sociologist at the Institute of Sociology and researcher at the Col- laborative Research Center 948 Heroes – Heroizations – Heroisms at the University of Freiburg (Germany). He has published Bilder des Sozialen (Paderborn: Fink 2014), co-edited the books Die Figur des Dritten (Berlin: Suhrkamp 2010) and Das Andere der Ordnung. Theorien des Exzeptionellen (Weilerswist: Velbrück 2015). Research Interests: Sociological diagnoses of the present, figurative sociology, history of science, sustainability research (https://www.soziologie. uni-freiburg.de/personen/schlechtriemen). Sebastian J. Moser is a Sociologist at the Department of Research in Ethics of the University of Paris-Sud / Paris-Saclay and member of the Laboratoire d’excellence DistALZ. Furthermore, he is an associated member of the Espace éthique IDF and the Max Weber Center (Lyon). He published Pfandsammler. Erkundungen einer urbanen Sozialfigur (Hamburger Edition, 2014) and co-edited Anticiper le futur de la Santé. Vers une éthique de l’anticipation (under review). Research Interests: sociology of everyday life, qualitative methods, sociology of helping. The text This text is the product of research stays within the Franco-German research program „Changing Societies”, a cooperation between the WZB Berlin Social Science Center and the Fondation Maison des Sciences de l’Homme in Paris. It is a slightly modified translation of the German article published in 2018, «Sozialfiguren - zwischen gesellschaftlicher Erfahrung und soziologischer Diagnose», Zeitschrift für Soziologie 47 (3), 164-180, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/ zfsoz-2018-1011. Citing this document Sebastian J. Moser & Tobias Schlechtriemen, Social Figures - Between societal experience and sociological diagnosis, FMSH-WP-2018-140, décembre 2018.

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Abstract Social figures are an independent element of sociological research – that is the initial thesis of the authors. Sociological diagnoses of present-day life often place the focus of their analysis on emblematic figures because they embody essential characteristics of contemporary society. To give a more precise outline of the sociological meaning of social figures, the concept is placed in the context of related categories of sociology – ideal types, social role, social character, and social figuration. Based on a comparative analysis of these categories, the features of social- figurative representations are identified. The authors demonstrate what social figures do in the context of sociological studies, how they generate evidence, how they can be used in an explorative manner in empirical research settings, and also what the limits of their analytical potential are. Keywords Social Figures; Sociological Representations; Ideal Types; Exploratory Research; Social Figuration; Figurative Sociology

Figures sociales - Entre expérience sociale et analyse des temps présents Résumé Les figures sociales sont un élément indépendant de la recherche sociologique - telle est la thèse initiale des auteurs. Au centre de l’analyse des temps présents nous trouvons souvent des figures emblématiques; ceux qui incarnent des caractéristiques essentielles de la société contemporaine. Pour donner un aperçu plus précis de la signification sociologique des figures sociales, le concept est placé dans le contexte de catégories sociologiques établis. Sur la base d’une analyse comparative, les caractéristiques d’une telle approche seront identifiées. Les auteurs démontrent ce que font les figures sociales dans le contexte des études sociologiques, comment elles génèrent des preuves, comment elles peuvent être utilisées de manière exploratoire dans un contexte de recherche empirique, ainsi que les limites de leur potentiel analytique. Mots-clefs figures sociales ; représentations sociologiques ; types idéaux ; recherche exploratoire ; configuration sociale ; sociologie figurative

Characterizing, Typifying, and Figuring: Precursors of the Concept of Social Figures 5 Social Figure Compared to other Sociological Concepts 6 Social figure and ideal type 7 Social figure and social role 8 Social figure and social character 8 Social figure and social figuration 9 On the Characteristics of Social Figures 10 Social figures –on the history of the term figura 10 Human figurations 11 Social figure – articulation of social experience 11 Configuration, refiguration, defiguration 12 Aesthetic-somatic aspects 13 Ethical positionings 13 How to Study Social Figures? 14 How Social Figures Create Epistemic Plausibility 16 Perspectives for Social Figurative Research 17 References 19

Wittgenstein said: Whereof one cannot of social figurative representations in the speak, thereof one should remain silent. third part. The article will close with an outline of questions for further research. I believe it could be said with equal jus- tice: Whereof one cannot speak, thereafter Characterizing, Typifying, and Figu- one should seek. ring: Precursors of the Concept of Norbert Elias1 Social Figures ocial figures are a genuine element Social figures do not constitute a fully deve- of sociological studies. As of yet, loped sociological concept; one searches in however, there has been no in-depth vain in the literature for reflections on the Sreflection on what, precisely, distin- epistemic status or the methodological tools guishes social figurative representations from for their construction. In contrast to the other sociological approaches. The aim of this almost offhand way one refers to “habitus” article is to elaborate the epistemic potential or “social roles,” the social figure has not yet and limitations of this form of representing found its way into the canon of established the social. We hypothesize that social figures categories. Nevertheless, descriptions of are a suitable means of pursuing the ques- individual social figures appear in numerous tions that people in present-day society are studies; first and foremost, in the context itching to answer but for which there are no of sociological diagnoses of the present (cf. clear or even institutionalized answers so far. Schlechtriemen T., in press). Sociologists rely on social figures to articulate critical experiences that need to be dealt The term “social figure” has long been in with in a socially appropriate and accepted use in the social sciences, albeit with varying way. They can thus facilitate the explorative meanings and usually only in passing2. It investigation of crises-laden social develop- was Ralf Dahrendorf who began using the ments. Portraits of individual social figures term more frequently in the 1960s, such as have a long tradition in sociological research when he investigated the “English workers’ and come into play especially while resear- child” as a “social figure” that had “cha- chers tried to make social change tangible. racterized the image of English universities Examples include “the stranger” (Georg Sim- as well as that of English literature since mel), “the hobo” (Nels Anderson), “the sala- the year 1944” (Dahrendorf R., 1965 : 4, ried masses” (Siegfried Kracauer), “workers’ our translation). However, Dahrendorf uses children” (Ralf Dahrendorf), “the simple “social figure” to refer to something roughly people” (Pierre Sansot), “the flexible self” equivalent to the concept of the social role, (Richard Sennett), “the tourist” (Zygmunt as we will demonstrate later on. Starting in Bauman), “the artist” (Pierre-Michel Men- the 1980s, the term social figure appears in ger), or “the migrant” (Thomas Nail). sociological sports studies (such as in Bette K.-H., 1984), among other places, without We will begin by tracing the forms that the being defined more closely. The same also notion has taken on up to now in sociological applies to the French sociologist Patrick studies. In doing so, we will consider, among Tacussel, who pursues the project of a “figu- other things, its use in the English, French rative sociology” (1991) on the one hand, and German languages, which already reveals while using the term “social figure” on the important differences. In the second part, we other – albeit in terms of the Weberian ideal will place the concept of the social figure side type, which he refers to as the “sociological by side with related sociological categories version of hypotyposis in classical rhetoric” (ideal type, social role, social character, and (2016 : 10, our translation). social figuration) and compare them for similarities and differences. The results of this Since the beginning of the new millennium, comparison constitute the starting point for various compendia presenting a collection of an elaboration of the essential characteristics 2. Arnold Gehlen, for example, uses “social figure” 1. This note is written on a page belonging to the Mo- more generally in terms of cultural forms in a biogra- zart material (cf. Elias N., 1993 : 141). phical-anthropological treatise from the year 1950.

Fondation Maison des sciences de l’homme - 54 boulevard Raspail - 75006 Paris - France http://www.fmsh.fr - FMSH-WP-2018-140, décembre 2018 Social Figures -Between societal experience and sociological diagnosis 6/23 social figures have appeared. The most pro- description of real and fictitious people (cf. minent example is a German anthology of Koch T., 1991 : 8), the similarities between social figures, edited by Stephen Moebius and literary and sociological representations Markus Schroer (2010a). It presents a large spring to mind (cf. Carnevali B., 2010 : 6). number of social figures: from the gunman, Balzac, for instance, described types as fol- consultant, world citizen, and fundamentalist lows: “It was not a small task to paint the to the creative, speculator, and many more. two or three thousand prominent figures of an According to Moebius and Schroer, social epoch, for such is, ultimately, the sum of the figures are characterized by the fact types that each generation presents and that includes” (quoted by that they extend over several [social, The Human Comedy David J., 2010 : 66, ). And for S.J.M./T.S.] spheres. They typically origi- our translation Balzac, every epoch produces several thou- nated in particular fields but became more sand such types, which may be used to des- and more independent in their activities: cribe society in all of its facets (cf. David J., Consulting, managing, speculating – these 2010 : 66-83). Social figurative representa- are activities that have become practices tions in sociology bear close relations to lite- which have long since left their original rature. Included among the data David Ries- field to drift through society as a whole man draws on to work out his “other-directed (Moebius S. – Schroer M., 2010b : 8, our characters” (Riesman D., 1950) are novels translation). as well as children’s books, films, and music. In the English-speaking world, “social figure” Social figurative descriptions hence operate is not used in everyday language. This is also at the interface between literature, public true of the corresponding terms in colloquial discourse, and sociology4. German and French. The English term is used Social figurative representations claim impli- as a synonym for “public figure” which is not citly to provide a good description of collec- the case for German. In French, on the other tive experiences of present-day society, mea- hand, both meanings are present. The expres- ning that social figures depend on recognition sion “figure sociale” is used in a sociological from their contemporaries. If the members of sense yet also appears in contexts referring to a society find the condensed figurative por- public figures (cf. Lilti A., 2014). In addition, trayal of their experiences inappropriate, the French term “nouvelle figure” is some- they will not adopt it for social self-descrip- times used in the sense we intend to focus on tions. It is therefore possible only in retros- in this article (cf. Pierron J.-P., 2007; Pau- pect to determine which figures have achie- gam S. – Martin C., 2009). ved the status of a social figure – a problem If we limited ourselves to instances in which with methodological consequences we will the word social figure is used explicitly, howe- explore further below. What the numerous ver, it would lead to misunderstandings with descriptions of concrete social figures still regard to the concept. What we are more lack, however, are specific reflections on what interested in is rather attempts to differen- it means to tackle these social figures from tiate and categorize people in a typology, to a scientific – or more precisely, sociological work out more general characteristics on the – perspective. basis of a single figure. The units of reference here range from humanity as a whole Social Figure Compared to other over society to a generation (cf. Doerry M., 1986 : 36-43); older theories also referred Sociological Concepts to a people or a nation (Mead M., 1961; Mei- To characterize strengths and limitations of senhelder T., 2006 : 57f.)3. Literary portraits the social figurative form of representation should also be counted among the precursors in more detail, we will compare it with other of studies on social figures. If one unders- sociological approaches in the following and tands literature as consisting not least in the draw distinctions where necessary. In doing

3. Gerd Stein refers to the protagonists of his extensive 4. On the historical relationship and the allocation of collection as “cultural figures and social characters” tasks between literature and sociology, cf. Lepenies W., (Stein G., 1985, our translation). 1985.

Fondation Maison des sciences de l’homme - 54 boulevard Raspail - 75006 Paris - France http://www.fmsh.fr - FMSH-WP-2018-140, décembre 2018 Social Figures -Between societal experience and sociological diagnosis 7/23 so, we will concentrate on concepts that exhi- focusing on selected aspects of sociohisto- bit systematic or theoretical similarities to rical cultural phenomena fulfill a heuristic social figures, namely ideal type, social role, function – they help the sociologist to “open social character, and social figuration. The up” reality. In scientific policy, the concept intention of this comparison is to point out of ideal types was brought up in opposition the areas in which these concepts intersect to the approach of positivism, which was and where the social figure exhibits distinc- oriented toward the natural sciences (cf. tive features. The necessity of an analytical Gerhardt U., 2001 : 16f.). The same seems separation of this kind is made clear in the also to apply to social figures, as they are not following quotation by Ralf Dahrendorf – positivistic but interpretive and heuristic. doubtlessly one of the most well-known expo- In contrast to ideal types, the birthplace of nents of role theory in Germany –, in which social figures is not necessarily science – he gives a brief account of his own approach5: they occasionally appear first in novels, films, Dahrendorf calls his concept of the “Ger- or public discourses. Their origin is therefore man character” more sociological than often difficult to reconstruct. Moreover, they social psychoanalytical. It is not the indivi- are not developed primarily as a heuristic dual as such, not the individual character, instrument but spring from the desire to arti- that is the necessary analytical construct culate and visualize influential social expe- for Dahrendorf, but only his social figure, riences. One point on which ideal types and or more precisely, the behaviors demanded social figures converge, however, is that they of him by his society. […] The German cha- both combine striking characteristics and racter is hence nothing other than a role represent them in exaggerated form. Weber pre-defined by German society which every describes this process as the “accentuation member is expected to take on” (Dahren- of one or more points of view” that lead to a dorf R., 1985 : 376, our translation and “unified analytical construct” (1969a : 90). emphasis). The reduction of complexity is thus the main task of both ideal types and social figures. Social figure and ideal type Whereas ideal types are bound closely to an In contrast to social figures, ideal types are epistemic interest, the “intensification of one a fundamental part of the methodological or more aspects” involved in social figurative repertoire of sociology6. As Udo Kuckartz representations relies on the relevance of the (2010 : 553) writes, classification intotypes social experience articulated in the figures has a long tradition within sociology, reaching as well as on criteria of narrative and figura- all the way back to classical researchers in tive coherence. The uniformity of the thought the field like Wilhelm Dilthey, Georg Simmel, construct that Weber is speaking of is here Max Weber, or Alfred Schütz, as well as the guaranteed through the figure and its form as first ethnographical studies of the Chicago well as its references to the lifeworld. School. According to Max Weber, ideal types Alfred Schütz took up Weber’s concept of are thought constructions combining indi- ideal types within the context of his inter- vidual aspects of social reality “which our pretive sociology and developed it further imagination accepts as plausibly motiva- (cf. Gerhardt U., 2001 : 425-434). In his ted and hence as ‘objectively possible’ and conception, ideal types do not just serve to which appear as adequate from the nomo- promote scientific understanding but may be logical standpoint” (Weber M., 1969a : found even in daily life. In everyday interac- 92, emphasis in original). These “imagination, they function as typological classifica- tive constructs” (Weber M., 1969b : 173) tions given to each other by interaction par- tners7. This extension of the concept gives 5. For greater legibility, we have not reproduced the ideal types an orientation function in social actually more precise punctuation of citations within 8 citations in this quotation: Dahrendorf is quoting him- action that is also found in social figures . self here. 6. The connection suggests itself already for etymolo- 7. Cf. the chapter “D. The World of Contemporairies as gical reasons, as figura is the Latin translation of the a Structure of Ideal Types” in Schütz A., 1967. Ancient Greek typos (cf. Frye N., 1988 : 65). 8. Schütz wrote articles that exhibit a closeness to so-

Like social figures, ideal types as unders- Helmuth Plessner provides a further indi- tood by Schütz provide concrete models of cation of how social roles differ from social how a person typically behaves in a particular figures. In an unknown paper on sport, he context, and in this respect they figure expec- assumes that human beings are forced to tations as well as understanding. embody their selves: Social figure and social role We need to embody – but whom? The person we are, with a name, a background, This aspect of the stabilization of behavioral among our fellow human beings whom expectations also applies to social roles. In society, depending on its structure, dic- its functionalist variant, the concept of roles tates or makes available certain roles. In was introduced to sociology by way of cultural embodying these roles, we figure. […] anthropology as a means of explaining how We are thus all actors and spectators in society and its subsystems maintain their abi- a game […] whose role concept is largely lity to function through the division of labor. functionally faded today yet still recalls its Talcott Parsons assumes that roles have the baroque theatrical version in expressions function of “bringing out those possibilities like “to go over the stage” or “to make a of behavior which ‘fit’ the needs and the representative figure” (1967 : 19f., our tolerances of the particular patterned struc- translation). ture and by-passing or repressing the others” (Parsons T., [1945]1958). Adherence is Hence, (social) figures necessarily relate to controlled by sanctions. A similar conception bodily aspects. As Robert Gugutzer writes may be found in the works of Heinrich Popitz, (2012 : 9), most theories of action ignore who understands roles as impositions of par- the fact that social action is a bodily-physi- ticular bundles of behavioral norms. They are cal action. In contrast to the bodiless, norm- positionally stable and may be seen in certain oriented role-bearer, the representation of members of society, because they are forced social figures needs to take into account to conform to the prevailing norms (cf. Popitz the somatic-aesthetic dimension. It is only H., 1967 : 21). The criterion is consequently through a description of their performative the obligation to follow what is normatively “self-presentations” (Goffman E., 1959) that expectable, or more precisely: their in fact social figures canillustrate the social. existing, unconditional validity. Social figure and social character Social figures, by contrast, are social positions For everyday understanding, it initially seems that are either not yet or no longer institutio- unusual that sociology falls back on the nalized. Where social figures appear, it must concept of character10. As Barbara Carnevali be assumed either that a societal understan- (2010) demonstrates, however, the concept ding of what is imminent or is not yet stable of character goes back to rhetoric, where it that the realm of the normatively expectable refers to descriptive and normative portraits is beginning to crumble. Their appearance of human behavior (ethopoeia). What this therefore suggests normative conflicts that involves in epistemological terms is arriving can potentially lead to a realignment of the at a correct description, and from an ethical relationship between individual and society9. perspective the represented behavior should 11 cial figures, such as “The Stranger” (Schütz A., 1971a), then function as a model to emulate . This “The Homecomer” (Schütz A., 1971b), or “The Well- Informed Citizen” (Schütz A., 1971c). These are not in this way, this appears as an “annoying fact” (Dah- social figures in the narrow sense, because they largely rendorf R., 2010 : 21, our translation). For just this lack a temporal index and thus a connection to a spe- reason, conflicts in which the normative content is avai- cific social experience – even though the articles were lable for use may arise. written at a time [1944] in which migrants and retur- 10. It should be noted here that the English “charac- nees might have very well functioned as social figures. ter” can of course mean not just an individual quality 9. However, this should not be confused with the but also a character in a drama. The semantic proximity conflict-theoretical version of role theory, as presented to social figures is also present in the dramaturgical by Ralf Dahrendorf ([1958]2010) in the “homo socio- approach of Erving Goffman. logicus.” For him, too, roles are a bundle of normative 11. According to Aristotle, characters (“character” is expectations that are followed as a means of avoiding the translation of the Ancient Greek ethos) should be negative sanctions. As society limits individual liberty imitated in a tragedy. “We tend to think of character

Fondation Maison des sciences de l’homme - 54 boulevard Raspail - 75006 Paris - France http://www.fmsh.fr - FMSH-WP-2018-140, décembre 2018 Social Figures -Between societal experience and sociological diagnosis 9/23 tradition of the concept of character is funda- concept of habitus. The habitus involves gene- mental for social figures, because they repre- rative, temporally stable, and embodied dis- sent exemplary behaviors, too. On the one positions that “are internalized as a result of hand they claim to describe social realities, early socialization experiences which in turn and on the other they provide an opportu- are conditioned by family’s location in the nity for social self-understanding and ethical fields that compose the structure of society“ positioning. (Meisenhelder T., 2006 : 62). The reference to Bourdieu is of fundamental importance in In sociology, the concept of social charac- our case: As already stated in relation to Ples- ter or character of society was introduced sner, social figures possess a physical com- in the social psychology approach of Erich ponent. They thus have and are body. These Fromm (1932; 1941; Maccoby M., 2001). bodies are used to carry out figure-specific He understands social character as a part of practices and to establish figural connections the character structure shared by all people to other bodies. Sociality can consequently in similar social situations. With reference to (also) be sensed and felt. Freud, Fromm emphasizes that the interna- lization of external normative and emotional Social figure and social figuration necessities makes man “ to act as he desire An examination of social figures would of to act” (1941 : 283, ). It has our emphasis course not be complete without a conside- follows that action and thought are motivated ration of Norbert Elias’s figurational socio- by the social character and that the associa- logy. In his writings, Elias mentions again ted fulfillment of norms is at the same time a and again concrete figures12 or even names satisfying experience. his sociological concepts after such figures This aspect highlights an important diffe- (the king’s mechanism, the established- rence between social characters and social outsider figuration). He develops the concept figures: Whereas the main issue in the former of social figuration in the context of funda- is how the individual emotionally experiences mental reflection on the object of socio- that he acts conformably to normative requi- logy and combines it with a clear heu- rements, this plays more of a minor role in ristic concern: Individual and collective the latter. Social figures do give rise to emo- developments (psycho- and sociogenesis) are tions when they appear in public discourses – mutually dependent; they accordingly involve this is why they might cause irritation, admi- overcoming individualistic or holistic pers- ration, or anger. But it is not yet settled how pectives toward a focus on interdependent society should deal with them. relations; mutual dependencies or balances of power both extend and limit the freedom of The concept of social character was later interaction; figurations should not be thought used by David Riesman in his famous study of as a state but must be conceived as social The Lonely Crowd ([1950]1967), with refe- (Elias N., 1997). All aspects of the rence to Fromm. Yet, despite its broad cur- processes approach – the position beyond individualis- rency in American sociology until the 1960s, tic and holistic perspectives, the relationality, social character never succeeded in achie- and the processuality – may be transferred to ving acceptance “as a sociological concept” the concept of the social figure. (Ozanne H., 1943). For Thomas Meisenhel- der, however, the social character approach in The figuration integrates the individuals and sociology was continued in Pierre Bourdieu’s transforms them into something they would as an attribute of a person’s identity: it refers to the whole range of qualities that make up the irreducible 12. “The clergyman and the professor – these are in- individuality of that person. Aristotle, instead, conside- deed two of the most important representatives of the red characters to be pre-individual or trans-individual middleclass administrative intelligentsia, two social attributes: passions [...], ethical disposition or virtues figures who played the decisive part in the formation and vices [...], different ages or stages of life [...], or and diffusion of the new language of educated Ger- even social conditions [...]. Such attributes do not cor- mans.” (Elias N., 2007 : 22) Elias assumes that “a respond to the individual subject, but pass through, quite definite social situation” (ibid. : 24) emerges in encompass, or transcend him or her. They can be re- them. Hence, there are many similarities here to social presented as conditions, ‘ethical spaces’ occupied by a figures and to the way in which social experiences are number of people” (Carnevali B., 2010 : 5) articulated in them

Fondation Maison des sciences de l’homme - 54 boulevard Raspail - 75006 Paris - France http://www.fmsh.fr - FMSH-WP-2018-140, décembre 2018 Social Figures -Between societal experience and sociological diagnosis 10/23 not be without the figurative connection. however, it is crucial that the access to social What matters in considering them is there- reality is established by way of figures. Below fore the relations between the individuals we would like to pursue the following ques- and the resulting “form” (Elias N., 2006 : tions: What figurative characteristics do social 74). Social figures are initially, if not histo- figures exhibit? How do they create plausi- rical persons, then at least individual human bility? What methodological consequences figures. They are exemplary individuals that does this entail for sociological work? We embody a socially relevant aspect emble- will begin by outlining the history of the term matically. Yet they are related to other stri- figura to show what units of semantic mea- king figures, such as the antagonist, and are ning the concept of figure contains14. thus embedded in a particular field of action. The etymological root of “figure,” fig- (lat. fin- Although the focus is on a single social figure, gere), refers to modeling, to the act of giving it never appears alone. a form to a material (cf. Dubois P., 1999 : The concept of figuration may be easily 12f.; Auerbach E., 1967 : 55). The Latin illustrated through reference to social figura, in turn, is derived from the Ancient dances. They are indeed the simplest Greek skema – and is more rarely also the example one could choose to make it clear translation of typos. Both of these starting what is understood by a human-created points contain the meaning modeling, the figuration. One might think of a mazurka, act of giving something a form, but also the a menuett, a polonaise, a tango, a rock ‘n’ model-like and schematic character. Figura roll. The image of the movable figurations of initially has a very broad meaning: interdependent people in a dance perhaps Figura originally has the very general mea- makes it easier to imagine countries, cities, ning of “plastic form” and is introduced to families or also capitalist, communist, and the Latin language with the construction feudal systems as figurations. (Elias N., “nova figura.” “Figure” is hence everything 1997 : 71, ). our translation that can appear as a form with clearly defi- The “dance figurations” (ibid. : 72) are a ned contours and that shows the plasticity particularly suitable example, because they of its appearance by the fact that it can also evoke the moveability, the processuality always appear in a new and thus different of figurations. Regarding the processuality way than it initially seemed (Friedrich L. – of social figurations emphasized by Elias, it Harrasser K. – Tyradellis D., 2014 : 55, our should be underlined for the conceptuali- translation). zation of social figures that play processes Figures are hence everything that may be per- a fundamental role in their formation and ceived as possessing a clearly defined form. establishment, as well as in any loss of the In the compound nova figura, the shape of amount of attention they attract in society. the figura is also subject to constant changes Social figures are not static entities but – and is accordingly perceived as contingent. should rather be understood as moveable In contrast to forma, which is more closely figurations involved in a process. bound to ideal aspects, figura is also oriented more toward sensory qualities. “The idea On the Characteristics of Social of the trace, the impression, the fashioned Figures object – by hand (modeling) or by contact Social figures –on the history of the term (casting) – is originally bound very closely to figura the concept of the figura” (Dubois P., 1999 : 20, our translation). This demonstrates the The starting point for formulating our unders- semantic link between figura and materiality. tanding of social figures is figurativity, which In addition to the units of meaning named does not play a central role in any of the 13 concepts drawn upon above . In our view, be found in Schlechtriemen, in press. 14. On the history of the term “figure,” cf. Auerbach 13. Even Elias who writes about ‚figuration‘ does not E., 1967; Aubral F., 1999; Dubois P., 1999; Brands- highlight explicitly figurativity in our understanding. A tetter G. – Peters S., 2002; Friedrich L. – Harrasser K. first sketch of the characteristics of social figures can – Tyradellis D., 2014.

Fondation Maison des sciences de l’homme - 54 boulevard Raspail - 75006 Paris - France http://www.fmsh.fr - FMSH-WP-2018-140, décembre 2018 Social Figures -Between societal experience and sociological diagnosis 11/23 above, it may be stated that figures always vivid stage setting full of graphic sensory communicate the fact that they are formed impressions. (cf. Friedrich L. – Harrasser K. – Tyradellis Social figure – articulation of social D., 2014 : 56f.). experience Human figurations A social figure is not simply a historical per- In the case of a social figure, the contou- son (cf. Langenohl A., 2011 : 87). Rather, red form (figura) receives a human face with it presents social experiences figuratively in a name, gender, age, etc. Oftentimes the concentrated form. Its appearance provides human figure appears as the protagonist of the opportunity to communicate aspects of a story. When Richard Sennett (1998) tells events or occurrences that were experienced the story of the increasing flexibility of the and shared by members of society at a par- working world, for example, he uses Rico, a ticular historical point in time. According to young man, entrepreneur, and father, as an Wolfgang Eßbach, it is precisely this act of exemplary embodiment of the flexible self. speaking about an experience that transforms “individual experiences of the isolated sub- Social figures appear in illustrative scenes. ject of cognition” into a “social experience” Sennett does not just portray Rico but also (2014 : 19, ). The events that presents the generational difference between our translation happen to social figures mark breaks with him and his father Enrico or Bill Gates, the what has hitherto been the case; they des- model entrepreneur. The characters accom- cribe the state of no longer being able to panying the protagonist in the descriptions grasp routine forms of world interpretation. thus form a figurative setting. In his descrip- This is precisely what the “pathic moment” tions of courtly culture, Norbert Elias (2002) (ibid.) of social experience emphasizes: includes a range of characters in addition to People are affected negatively or positively the king, such as courtiers, valets, or herds- by what happens to them. Viewed in this men. The characters take on various posi- way, social figures are expressions of latent tions by representing neighboring figures or societal tendencies on which contemporaries antagonists. have not (yet) succeeded in finding a clear Besides the constellations of figures within stance. Accordingly, social figures may be the story, one can also work out references to seen as emergence phenomena15. They no historical precursors (prefigurations) to illus- longer or do not yet belong to the inventory of trate continuities or a break with the past. roles available to members of the society but More recent social figures of the working world rather point, by virtue of their appearance, to refer implicitly or explicitly to corresponding a change. In the field of medicine, for ins- models. For example, Ulrich Bröckling makes tance, the new possibilities of genetics and explicit reference to the capitalist entrepre- imaging methods led to preventive and pre- neur as a “creative destroyer” (Schumpeter dictive approaches. Correspondingly, figures J., [1934]2010) in his The Entrepreneurial like “risk persons” and the “potentially sick” Self (2015). The prefigurations thus form a (Lemke T., 2006) appear in this context. part of cultural memory (Assmann J., 2008), Social figures hence emerge within fields of are stored there, and can be “refigured” in a practice in which a structural transformation particular societal constellation. Reconstruc- is close at hand or already underway. It is on tions and reenactments of the past are also a account of this moment of transition that the part of the figurative constellations in which individuals do not yet have any stable norm the social figures are located. expectations at their disposal, as would be Moreover, social figures are located in specific lifeworlds, such as Kracauer’s employees. 15. According to Ulrich Oevermann, every new phe- They move in the world of the company, the nomenon is already practically motivated in the past (cf. Oevermann U., 1991 : 304). Gert Albert, who office, and, in their leisure time, the “plea- developed a theory of emergence following Elias, also sure barracks” (Kracauer S., 1998 : 91). assumes that emergent attributes of social entities can Their description leads to the creation of a originate in characteristics of individual parts which, for their part, “appear only in particular (con-)figurations of social wholes” (Albert G., 2013 : 211, our translation).

Fondation Maison des sciences de l’homme - 54 boulevard Raspail - 75006 Paris - France http://www.fmsh.fr - FMSH-WP-2018-140, décembre 2018 Social Figures -Between societal experience and sociological diagnosis 12/23 the case with social roles. In latent crisis about ourselves” (Thomä D., 1992 : 23, our situations, social figures point out possible translation). new reactions and behaviors that can be dis- However, this quality of being in an “in- cussed through them16. As emergence figures between time” also means that existing – with a close link to a specific sociohistorical figures that have meanwhile become unin- constellation – social figures possess a spe- teresting can be taken up once again. They . This temporal boundedness cial time index advance in modified form to the status of sets them apart from theoretical concepts a current point of reference and hence to a and their claim to universal validity. This last social figure. The figurative representation aspect underlines their connection to the tra- thus re-presents the past situation. Moser, dition of the . nova figura for instance, compares the practice of col- With its character traits, a social figure the- lecting returnable bottles that appeared in refore embodies something that occupies Germany at the beginning of the 21st century and worries the contemporaries. The intent with collectors of leftover crops, wood, and is not psychological but sociological: It is rags from the past and ascertains a “return not a matter of a portrayal of personality but of the gatherer” (2014)18. Following Paul of an exaggerated description of situations Ricoeur, one might describe the process of which are socially problematic. The “caring establishing new figures as “configuration” relatives” (Blanc A., 2010), observed increa- and that of reviving old ones as “refiguration” singly in the 1990s, articulate experiences, (cf. Ricoeur P., 1984 : 76). qualities, and behaviors that constitute an As soon as a society has succeeded in ela- important aspect of the reality of family life borating new normative behavioral standards for many people. Although this form of repre- to reflect the changing times, the social sentation is an individual figure, what it ulti- figure, as well as the pronounced interest in mately expresses – as implied by the prefix it, disappears. It becomes unattractive and social – is social time experiences17. is forgotten, because there is currently no Configuration, refiguration, defiguration demand for a figurative focus of self-understanding. The process by which social figures Social figures do not exist “once and for all.” fall into disuse may therefore be termed Rather, they attract attention in specific his- “defiguration.” The key point for all three is torical constellations – in “in-between times” that they describe constant changes – which – because they effectively condense virulent constitutes a semantic layer of figura – and social experiences and are hence in the focus are of figuration, as Elias charac- of mass media. The following quotation, in processes terizes them. Hence, social figures represent which Dieter Thomä paraphrases Hegel, pro- the (provisional) result of a process of figura- vides a fitting illustration of this point: “A tion that passes through several stages (confi- ‘form of life’ has ‘become old’ [...] before guration, refiguration, and defiguration). we have become familiar with a new ‘form.’ We are still in the dark about our situation [...], live a life that we are only just getting to know, and are necessarily uncertain 18. In crisis situations, possible solutions are sought in the repertoire available from the past. As routine behaviors no longer work and are dismissed as unsuitable, 16. In comparison to role theory, it may be stated that people take recourse to historically evolved semantics social figures lack normatively binding expectations on or practices and reinterpret them in the current context. the one hand and that there thus exist no sanctions This is precisely what the affective potential of social with which one could react to the respective practices figures emphasizes: On the one hand they enrage and on the other. They therefore possess great potential for irritate, as their prefigurations reawaken connections to irritation. aspects of the past that are believed to be outdated and 17. The characterization of a social figure also involves thus seem outdated. On the other hand, social figures formulating the relationship of the individual to society: can inspire admiration: They do something that needs for instance the freedom of the “manager” (Burnham) to be done, i.e., they overcome the state of latency, to shape society or the “clerk” (Mills) as a “cog in the thus offering orientation by illustrating particular va- machine” that, in contrast to the former, cannot bring lues. In addition, prefigurations with positive connota- any social influence to bear but is governed by social tions (such as hero figures) establish the connection to structures. a “better time.”

Aesthetic-somatic aspects In his approach, Erving Goffman emphasizes the physical co-presence and the sensory per- We have already touched on the corporal ception of the other as a constitutive condi- aspects that social figures outline with refe- tion for every interaction. The use of the body rence to Helmuth Plessner. Social charac- allows the individual to provide “a bodily ters, social roles, or ideal types may have enactment of his alignment to the events bodies as well, but they are not a topic of at hand” (Goffman E., 1971 : 125), i.e., it sustained interest for the respective theo- externalizes what can be expressed only with rists, at least not in the formulations of the difficulty by using words or much more effi- approaches described above. However, Elias ciently by corporal performances (a smile, a took into account social influence on the body nod, etc.). Social figures are concrete preci- from the outset in his figurational sociology19. sely because they “embody” norm-control- Although he did not leave behind a fully for- led role-bearers and are therefore obser- mulated theory of the body, his analyses of vable. The analysis of specific social figures etiquette books focus explicitly on changes in hence also requires an examination of per- the way the body is applied in specific prac- formatively expressed body ideals such as tices like blowing one’s nose or spitting (cf. clothing style or body language. The “young Elias N., 2007). He is also interested in how elderly” (van Dyk S. – Lessenich S., 2009), the knightly body is transformed into that of for example, are characterized among other a courtier through increasing suppression things by the fact that they break with former of aggressive impulses. The body is hence norms regarding the presentation of the aging significant for Elias for two reasons: On the body and are indicative of current biopolitical one hand it provides an appropriate means constraints concerning body manipulation or of describing the influence of society on the preventive healthcare. individual, and on the other hand the corpo- reality of the figures included in his studies Ethical positionings makes society experienceable. Social figures constitute a figurative sugges- As this experienceability is precisely what tion on how one might behave in the face of a the social figurative approach endeavors to virulent problem in society. They figure ways gain access to, engaging with the body is vir- of treating a problematical situation or chal- tually unavoidable. The body is something lenge and thus paint the picture of a possible that, as the sociologist Pierre Sansot (1986 : future. This occurs, as presented above, by 14) remarks, is exceedingly difficult to speak means of argumentative exaggeration and in about in abstract categories. Even in the ima- accordance with what is called ethopoeia in gination, the body techniques of deception, rhetoric (cf. Carnevali B., 2010). By calling metamorphosis, or devotion are ultimately attention to a specific aspect, social figures nothing but a meeting of bodies composed depict a future in which society is populated of flesh and blood, of bodies in the sense by that concrete social figure and the rela- described by Merleau-Ponty. On account of ted consequences. This form of conflation is its materiality, the body is the most imme- simultaneously a research instrument and a diate form of being in the world. Bringing it contribution to a public sociology; it initiates into play means appealing to one’s own expe- and provokes, enables and supports ethical riences and recalling images of them. The debates. concept of figura already contained the spe- Just as Weber’s postulate states that one can- cial meaning of sensory-aesthetic qualities, not not act, one might claim for social figures which is highlighted again at this point. that one cannot not take an ethical position on them. They enable a concrete discussion of the question of whether a society in which 19. As already mentioned, this also applies to Georg a specific social figure is part of the norma- Simmel’s comments on the senses or jewelry (cf. Sim- tively expectable inventory of behaviors (i.e., mel G., 2013). However, as this is not the place to with regard to social role) can (or should) launch into a summary of the “sociology of the body,” come into being. By presenting the ongoing we would like to refer to the very recommendable hand- book by R. Gugutzer, G. Klein, and M. Meuser (2017). change of social conditions in the guise of a

Fondation Maison des sciences de l’homme - 54 boulevard Raspail - 75006 Paris - France http://www.fmsh.fr - FMSH-WP-2018-140, décembre 2018 Social Figures -Between societal experience and sociological diagnosis 14/23 human figure and thus making it tangible to proximity is not preserved one-to-one but the senses, social figures force us to form an rather represented in the form of figurative evaluative opinion on this change. They hence types. Sennett, for example, stresses in his form the “gestalt-like focal point” (Plessner, study of the flexible self that Rico’s story quoted by von den Hoff et al., 2013 : 8, our was constructed as a synthesis of widely dif- translation) of social self-understanding. As a fering concrete narratives (cf. Sennett R., result, the latent becomes manifest, i.e., tan- 1998 : 12f.). Jérôme David provides an apt gible to the senses, discursively comprehen- description of this process (based on Balzac’s sible, and thus socially negotiable. working method): “The typological classification takes on the spontaneously indistinct However, the ethical dimension of the social contours of lived experience but accen- figurative approach does not lie in the norma- tuates them in such a way that they are made tive structuring of behavior (as in the case of understandable” (David J., 2010 : 82, social roles) but in the fact that social figures our ). It therefore involves an accen- point the way to options for acting and ulti- translation tuation and combination of characteristic mately to possibilities for social coexis- attributes. The social figurative description tence. As described above, the question of remains plastic and concrete in the process. whether and when social experiences are . condensed in a social figure is not negotia- Meaning is configured here – not defined ted solely within the field of sociology. In our Rather than claiming universal validity as opinion, however, it is the task of sociology compared to the particular, social figures to play through or at least hint at the social function as examples: their specific character consequences of social figurative models – traits show something that possesses social and this also applies to the alternatives for relevance. Whether one finds them already social coexistence articulated in the social existent or participates in their articulation, figures. Sansot, who himself referred to his the point in both cases is to preserve their work as figurative sociology, also calls upon plasticity and concreteness in one’s own pre- sociologists to participate in the figuration of sentation of them and to take their exemplary possible futures: “Sociologists [...] can allow nature as the starting point for one’s argumen- themselves to be creators of utopias, namely tation. What Weber formulates with reference of utopias that allow us to better accept our to ideal types – that they are not concepts in existence” (1986 : 24, our translation). a narrow sense and that they hence demand “our imagination, oriented and disciplined by How to Study Social Figures? reality” (1969a : 93) – also applies to the Social figures emerge in the context of social manner of dealing with social figures. It is change. In a methodological sense, they the- less a matter of logical rationality or statisti- refore ask the questions of how the process cal methods than of fantasy and imagination, by which these social figurations come into albeit of “exact imagination,” as Theodor W. being may be studied in actu; or whether they Adorno writes (1973 : 342). can only be studied in retrospect, after their We see ethnographical research methods as establishment. Can they be the object of aca- an appropriate means of giving due conside- demic inquiry at all if they are characterized ration to the experiential proximity of social by a tendency to articulate social experiential figures. However, they need to be supple- and emotional states rather than institutio- mented by methods for discourse and image nalized and categorized social norms? What analysis, because social figures can appear in methodological consequences result from a wide variety of media. the fact that social figures are presented as In ethnography, it is advantageous to adopt a figures in all manner of different media? research attitude like that of the early Chicago The goal in working with social figures does School, with its affinity for social reportage. not consist in formulating a definition for Getting one’s hands dirty, acquiring a nose them in the end. Social figurative presenta- for things, and learning from people were the tions should rather maintain the proximity most important research maxims of Robert to the social reality they describe. Yet, this E. Park: “Park, who frequently strolled

Fondation Maison des sciences de l’homme - 54 boulevard Raspail - 75006 Paris - France http://www.fmsh.fr - FMSH-WP-2018-140, décembre 2018 Social Figures -Between societal experience and sociological diagnosis 15/23 through Chicago with his students, insisted figure with its own media conventions and that observation was just as important as characteristics. “Figures owe their lives to the rummaging around in libraries” (Lindner R., media that create them”; they “should not be 1996 : 81 ). What this means for the social mistaken for lifeworld entities” (Friedrich L. figurative approach is that its “appropriate- – Harrasser K. – Tyradellis D., 2014 : 61, our ness for reality” (cf. Elias N., 2006 : 75) translation). They generally also appear in the stems precisely from the fact that the figures form of an intermedia composite. The social are experienceable, i.e., can be observed in figure of the refugee is composed of pho- their embedment in the social world and per- tos that appear in newspapers and internet ceived with all of the senses. This involves, reports, of film sequences, statistics, etc., as with Kracauer, the inclusion of “speech, as well as of texts that sometimes report in clothes, gestures, and countenances” (1998 more of a narrative vein on individual events : 39) as well as atmospheres and affects. or personal stories and sometimes formulate the situation in legal terms. It is accordin- Ethnographic case analyses also take figures gly necessary in analyzing them to take into into close account: “By bringing specific account the media-specific transcriptions figures into focus, the leader but also the (cf. Jäger L., 2001): It has consequences for outsider, the strange bird, or the mediator, the social figure if it is presented primarily in one can analyze the social context” (Brei- visual media. At the same time, it is only in denstein et al., 2015 : 152, our translation). the interplay between the various media that The figures crystallize into social practices a figure takes shape. The social figure cannot and situative problems. The study of social be pinned down or reduced to a specific pre- figures can link up to these issues, but social sentation but rather constitutes a part of the figures have a broader social reach and rele- social imaginary. vance than the figures ethnography focuses on. What is important is hence an eye for To determine which social figures appear in affective and discursive focal points reaching which media, how these media influence their beyond one’s own milieu that describe not presentation, and how they circulate through just local but also social problem situations. various media, the ethnographic approach After all, it is only possible to speak of social needs to be supplemented by discourse and figures if the issues they negotiate are not media analyses – for reasons of space, this just important for a specific milieu but also is an issue we can only touch on here. What relevant for society as a whole. we should not fail to mention, however, is that it is possible from the perspective of However, these methodological criteria pro- visual studies to analyze the genuine way in ceed from the premise that it is owing pre- which figures generate meaning (cf. Boehm cisely to this practice of letting oneself drift G., 2007; and the following subchapter 5). aimlessly: that our attention may suddenly Moreover, there is a special figurative herme- become riveted on something that we pre- neutics that proceeds from the methodologi- viously failed to see. We hence need to go cal assumption that images do not exist (just) on exploratory walks or sauntering forays like as isolated images. They always refer to other those taken by Kracauer or Walter Benja- images (figures) min (Legnaro A., 2010) to get a feeling for the “burning issues” of society. This means that are created aesthetically and thema- strolling not just through streets but also tically in imitation and in the vicinity of through literary as well as mass-media texts other images (which have models, form and images. Social figures may be found in citation chains, or are rejected as failures), such places, because they need both a phy- images that are set up, placed, or put next sical and a “media” body to emerge (cf. Fal- to other images or in isolation, images, kenhayner N., 2014). The particular medium in other words, that are always already – whether it be a text (academic, literary, created, seen, and understood with other journalistic) or a visual representation (book images in mind” (Müller M., 2012 : 130, covers, diagrams, photographs, films, etc.) our translation). – determines the outward form of the social

For purposes of analysis, the objective is entity20. A description is sufficiently coherent hence to develop typical figures by compa- and vivid if it engenders the feeling that ring images, arranging and contrasting them, one might have already come across such a conducting segment analyses, and testing figure before. However, the presentation of a compositional variations (cf. ibid. : 138-153). figure concentrates on a few carefully chosen characteristics without painting a picture of How Social Figures Create Episte- social reality in all of its complexity. mic Plausibility As the example of Kracauer illustrates, As a sociological instrument, social figures authors occasionally describe themselves as create plausibility by providing a concrete part of the scene depicting the social figure. description of what is (yet) incomprehen- The demonstrated presence of the researcher sible by means of argumentation. As human in the field and his or her encounter with the figures, they possess a special identification social figures guarantees – similarly to ethno- potential, because they convince not just dis- graphical research – a form of plausibility by cursively but also affectively. In sociological providing an account of the process of obser- descriptions, it takes but a few formulations vation. This might be described as the “I-am- to evoke a social figure. The opening scene in you mechanism”. In this way, the sociologist Kracauer’s study of the salaried masses out- conveys the impression that the readers too lines the characteristic features of its prota- could observe what is being described in gonists, which then appear clearly in the rea- their own environment if they only took the der’s imagination. time and made the effort. At the same time, this ensures that the description of the social ‘But you can already find all that in novels’, figure is the product of real observations. one private employee replied, when I asked her to tell me something about her life in In the context of sociological argumenta- the office. I got to know her one Sunday on tion, social figures possess their own form of the train journey to a Berlin suburb. She coherence. Plausibility is generated by logi- was returning from a wedding banquet that cal conclusions in the context of sociologi- had lasted the whole day and, as she her- cal theories and is correspondingly judged self admitted, she was a bit tipsy. Without on the basis of clarity and conclusiveness. prompting she divulged her boss, who was Empirical studies are considered to be sta- a soap manufacturer; she had already been tistically proven when the underlying data are working for three years as his private secre- valid and have been interpreted with metho- tary. He was a bachelor and admired her dological precision. When sociological des- lovely dark eyes. (Kracauer S., 1998 : 28) criptions evoke social figures, however, they link these presentations to the world of expe- Such vivid descriptions are referred to in rhe- rience. The way the author “proves” socio- toric as evidentia or hypotyposis (cf. Campe logical hypotheses is by being able to refer R., 2006). The speaker should create a again and again to the social figure that has mental image of the matter, describing it been brought to the reader’s eye and their for the audience as concretely and vividly lifeworld. This is not a matter of conceptual as possible to support his argument. Suc- stringency but of the vividness of the account, cessfully bringing a social figure before the the figurative coherence (not all characteris- eyes of the audience involves two opposing tics can be united plausibly in a figure), and processes: descriptions that are accurate in appropriate descriptions (with regard to the every detail on the one hand and contain cen- social experiences being articulated). tral omissions on the other. The detailed descriptions present its characteristic features and behaviors as well as a typical situation. These characterizations must be sufficiently 20. In contrast to conceptual stringency, social figures coherent among themselves to conjure up an offer a certain amount of freedom for contradictions, image of the social figure as a self-contained incoherencies, etc. However, it must still be possible to perceive these aspects as characteristics of a single figure. On the literary portrayal of humanity, cf. Koch T., 1991.

An aspect inherent to the social figurative (Calhoun C. – Wieviorka M., 2013 : §43, our means of representation is that it is clear translation) At the same time, this raises the that it is “merely” a representation – and not question within sociology of what quality cri- reality itself. Nevertheless, the description teria should be used to judge social figurative oscillates between a reality effect – “It could descriptions. be just so” – and the knowledge that this specific account combines the characteris- Perspectives for Social Figurative tic elements of reality and presents them in Research concentrated form. Social figures are in this Patrick Tacussel states his ambition “to sense neither clearly “scholarly” nor “ficti- found a figurative perspective in the human cious” but alternate between descriptions of sciences” (Tacussel P., 1991 : 251, our reality and fiction. translation). However, he leaves the matter of In contrast to the social psychological concept how the practical research might look largely of modal personality, whose characteristics open. Our attempt in this paper to elaborate are calculated through statistical means21, the concept of social figure could doubtlessly social figures and their characteristics are be combined with Tacussel’s ambition, as it is articulated on the basis of a social emotio- our aim too to investigate the specific poten- nal and experiential state. They are created in tial of the figurative. An important difference, close coordination with the society that is, on however, is that our discussion is limited to the one hand, described through the social social figures as an object and instrument of figures and in which, on the other, the social sociological research. If we wish to investigate figures are placed into. social figures from a sociological perspective, we need to answer the following question: The questions of whether contemporaries can Which social figures appear in which social identify with the descriptions and whether context? Then we need to consider questions they find their own experiences or those of regarding spatiotemporal reach: How long has others represented in them, are crucial to this a specific social figure been in circulation? process. All sociological representations may In which social subdomains and geographi- be understood with Luhmann as societal self- cal contexts may it be found – did it emerge descriptions (of the academic subsystem) (cf. within a national frame or does it delineate Luhmann N., 1990). Yet within the field of global societal experiences? Which media sociology, social figures make up the part that is it taken up in, and what are its itinera is formed in immediate response to society ries within these media? Above all, however, and is also evaluated by it22. This leads to we need to clarify what social experiences it sociological descriptions that – providing they articulates, what changes in social structure are good – can achieve a high degree of plau- its appearance enables, and what “proposals sibility for the broader public and that many for a solution” are formulated through it. people can relate to – in contrast to what is possible when only working with sociological Social figurative representations can serve as terminology. “If one accepts that the pro- means of exploring situations that are socially duction of the social sciences must have a unresolved, which can then be studied in social utility, based on its scientific contri- more detail with qualitative as well as quan- bution, then one must recognize that their titative research instruments. For example, relevance lies in what will be done with this Riesman’s social figure of the other-directed contribution in other spheres than theirs.” character inspired numerous empirical studies (cf., for example, Lipset S. M. – Löwen- 21. Social psychologists like Geert Hofstede take up cultural anthropological ideas from the first half of the thal L., 1961) that explored the viability of 20th century, like national character or social charac- his figure. By virtue of the synesthetic cha ter, but use them in the framework of quantifying and racter of social figures, many different rele- supposedly objectivizing methods. One of the authors they refer to is Ralph Linton, who we discussed above vant interconnections for research suggest in relation to social role theory (cf. Hofstede G., 2001). themselves here: What anxieties are people 22. In this respect, they resemble images of the social, preoccupied with in a particular field of prac- which also constitute visual self-thematizations or self- tice? What norms and values are important or descriptions (cf. Schlechtriemen T., 2014).

Fondation Maison des sciences de l’homme - 54 boulevard Raspail - 75006 Paris - France http://www.fmsh.fr - FMSH-WP-2018-140, décembre 2018 Social Figures -Between societal experience and sociological diagnosis 18/23 undergoing deep-rooted changes in this area? affecting and worrying it without negotiating What objectives and ideals are circulating? In a societal response to it. Societies avail them- a historical study of the discipline, one might selves of social figures to discuss how they reconstruct what social figures appeared in see change and where this change could lead sociological writings in the past, when they to in the future. This is the ethical dimension disappeared again, and at what times they of social figures and thus also their political were taken up again and updated. Historical function. They can serve to express an exis aspects of sociology converge with theoretical ting problem situation for a collective. In this aspects here. way, they make the problem concrete and frame it in such a way that the people can In the second part of this paper, we con- identify with this figuration and draw appro- ducted an initial comparison of the social priate political consequences (cf. Kracauer figure with other relevant social concepts. It would take more historical, conceptual, and S., 1998 : 25). methodological studies to further determine how the social figurative approach is embedded in the sociological discourse. Its relation to the concept of habitus, for instance, could only be hinted at here. A connection with Andrew Abbott’s proposal for a “lyrical sociology” (2007) might be very fruitful. This may also be seen in the inter- and transdisci- plinary potential of social figurative research approaches. A further question concerns the form in which the field of sociology itself was or is involved in the creation as well as in the dissemination and establishment of social figures. In their descriptions of the “stranger”, the “hobo”, the “simple people” or the “migrant”, Simmel, Anderson, Sansot and Nail put the focus on marginalized modes of existence. Through these kinds of sociolo gical texts, these figures turn thus into a point of reference for social self-understanding. Since social figures need to evoke a response – they can only be termed as such once they have reached society as a whole – but are also tied to emergence – they appear in the context of social change –, they can serve as tools for sociological exploration and diagnosis but not for a reliable prognosis. Social figures are close to what one can experience: this grants insight into the problems and mindset of society but represents also a lack of distance that allows for neither abstract conceptua lization nor clear negotiation. This might be seen as an indicator for the evidence orientation of this approach, rather than an orientation towards truth. Society figures, that is, it takes things in hand, as the etymological link to the modeling of forms implies, and thus creates social figures. In this way, society articulates what is

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