„Bring Dialectics Back Into Steam!” On the potential connections between social theory and qualitative research through Negative Dialectics

Zu den Verbindungspotentialen von Gesellschaftstheorie und qualitativer Forschung durch die Negative Dialektik

Abstract

In line with Kant’s assertion: “Intuitions (Anschauungen) without concepts are empty,” and extending it with Joas and Knöbl (2009), who argue that concepts always already contain some form of (everyday) theory, we follow Adorno in asserting that no knowledge is possible without theory (Adorno 2022). Starting from qualitative case studies that take into account the field-specific characteristics and thus enable the transfer of first-order concepts, categories, and terms into second-order constructions (Schütz 2010), we propose to regard this process as the starting point of a dialectical analysis. For while the qualitative case study captures the particular in connection with the general, merely examining second-order constructions is insufficient to embed these findings theoretically within social theory at an appropriate level of abstraction. Here, dialectical thinking is presented as a unifying conceptual practice—bridging empirical case studies and social theoretical reflection. The case study centers on individual experiences and the subjective knowledge of actors, aiming to grasp the complexity of social reality. In contrast, dialectical analysis systematically examines and generalizes these collected data and insights, thereby going beyond mere reconstruction of typical patterns to establish a meaningful connection with social theory.
The aim is to illuminate complex interrelations and mechanisms underlying social action, social change, and social order. This multi-stage approach assumes that empirics without theory are blind, while theory without empirics is empty and abstract. The insights derived from qualitative case research—viewed as puzzle pieces of the social realm—can thus challenge existing social theories and, through conceptual work, contribute to the scientific advancement of social theory, through and with qualitative research.