“预言”的终结与社会理论的危机

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April 2025

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Citation: WEN Xiang. The End of Prophecy and the Crisis of Social Theory[J]. Academic Monthly, 2025, 57(4): 117-126. shu

The End of Prophecy and the Crisis of Social Theory

WEN Xiang

Abstract

In the last twenty years or so,the disenchantment of social theory in the sense of meta-analysis has become a notable trend in the production of contemporary Western Sociology,one of the prominent manifestations of this is the end of prophecy,i.e.the critique and alienation of the paradigm of social theory writing characterized by the prophecy of the times.The end of prophecy is mainly due to two reasons:the aesthetic fatigue brought about by the frequent renovation of theories defining the new era;and the reflection on the dualism and purposiveness of prophecy that separates the past from the present.However,the end of prophecy is also accompanied by the decline of the overall vision and the weakening of historical consciousness,which brings a series of unanticipated consequences,including the bonsaiization of the research scale,the presentism of epistemology,and the destructurization of problematic awareness.This also reflects the dilemma of sociologists’ professional regeression.The production of knowledge in Chinese sociology needs to take the West as a mirror,to transcend rather than follow,to forge ahead rather than retreat,to look at Chinese modernization practices with an overall vision and historical consciousness,and thus to construct China’s own social theory.
- end of prophecy,
- social theory,
- dualism,
- bonsaiization,
- presentism,
- professional regeression
References
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The End of Prophecy and the Crisis of Social Theory

WEN Xiang

Abstract: In the last twenty years or so,the disenchantment of social theory in the sense of meta-analysis has become a notable trend in the production of contemporary Western Sociology,one of the prominent manifestations of this is the end of prophecy,i.e.the critique and alienation of the paradigm of social theory writing characterized by the prophecy of the times.The end of prophecy is mainly due to two reasons:the aesthetic fatigue brought about by the frequent renovation of theories defining the new era;and the reflection on the dualism and purposiveness of prophecy that separates the past from the present.However,the end of prophecy is also accompanied by the decline of the overall vision and the weakening of historical consciousness,which brings a series of unanticipated consequences,including the bonsaiization of the research scale,the presentism of epistemology,and the destructurization of problematic awareness.This also reflects the dilemma of sociologists’ professional regeression.The production of knowledge in Chinese sociology needs to take the West as a mirror,to transcend rather than follow,to forge ahead rather than retreat,to look at Chinese modernization practices with an overall vision and historical consciousness,and thus to construct China’s own social theory.

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通讯作者: 陈斌, bchen63@163.com

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