Suchergebnisse

Hartmut Rosa's (2003) discussion of the "social acceleration" that characterizes modern Western (capitalist) society & its ethical & political consequences is praised for its theoretical & empirical richness & identification of the paradoxes & contradictions that accompany the processes of modernization. However, it is argued that Rosa fails to acknowledge the centrality of Karl Marx's ideas on commodification & time compression in capitalist society to this acceleration. In addition, he does not fully specify how the conditions he identifies contribute to acceleration & his argument regarding "detemporalization" lacks conceptual clarity. Directions for future work on these topics are suggested. K. Hyatt Stewart

The need for the social sciences to reevaluate the assumptions they hold about time is examined. Time has different meanings in different cultures & social contexts. The social sciences have adopted an Enlightenment notion of time as a linear, unidimensional, & ordered concept with limited relevance for late modernity that presents an obstacle to engaging with environmental crises in an adequate manner. Globalization, particularly of communication technologies, the acceleration of innovation processes, the dislocation of environmental impacts from benefits & control systems, & the increasing human control of nature have rendered obsolete distinctions between social & natural time & demand the development of a framework for conceptualization of the environmental crisis that emphasizes the immaterial, the unquantifiable, & the unpredictable. 54 References. D. Generoli

In a social world whose pace continues to accelerate the future becomes an increasingly difficult terrain. While the focus of social life is narrowing down to the present, the futures we create on a daily basis cast ever longer shadows. This book addresses this paradox and its deep ethical implications

Die in Alltag und Wissenschaft bisher dominierende Aussage über Zeit lautet: Zeit ist meßbar. Barbara Adam zeigt jedoch, daß damit ein unzutreffendes, weil einengendes Bild vom Umgang der Menschen mit Zeit vorherrscht. Ihre umfangreichen empirischen Studien belegen: Die einzelnen gehen höchst erfinderisch und (teilweise) spielerischer mit dem Zeithaushalt um, als bisher angenommen wurde. In zahlreichen ausführlichen Gesprächen mit Personen aus allen Gesellschaftsschichten und Altersgruppen hat sich gezeigt, daß die disziplinierende Dimension von Zeit - Termindruck, Routinetätigkeiten, kalendarische Unterteilungen, Zeitmangel und Alterung - von den einzelnen durch Gegenstrategien kompensiert wird. Barbara Adam beschreibt, welche Mittel und Wege die einzelnen finden und erfinden, um Zeit für soziale Interaktionen, Zeit für den Körper (für Krankheit wie Heilung), die Umwelt, Zeit für das Lernen, aber auch für Muße und Luxus zu gewinnen. Damit besitzt, so die These der Autorin, der Umgang des einzelnen mit der Zeit die typische Doppeldeutigkeit aller Dimensionen der Gesellschaft der Individuen: Jeder kann gegen den Zwang der Zeit auf eigene Weise vorgehen, er ist zugleich aber gezwungen, einen eigenen Zeithaushalt zu schaffen.

The phenomenon of technological hazards, whose existence is only revealed many years after they were initially produced, shows that the question of our responsibilities toward future generations is of urgent importance. However, the nature of technological societies means that they are caught in a condition of structural irresponsibility: the tools they use to know the future cannot encompass the temporal reach of their actions. This article explores how dominant legal and moral concepts are equally deficient for helping us understand what future-oriented responsibility requires. An alternative understanding of responsibility is needed, one which can be developed from phenomenological and feminist concepts of care. Care, by opening up for us an understanding of the diversity of values that are constitutive of a worthwhile life, also connects us to the future as the future of care. As such, it provides us with ethical resources that can guide us in the face of uncertainty.