Peter-Ulrich Merz-Benz
Peter-Ulrich Merz-Benz’s main area of research is sociological theory and the history thereof, including the history of ideas. The systematic reconstruction and analysis of the works of classical sociologists (for instance, Ferdinand Tönnies, Max Weber, and Georg Simmel, but also Norbert Elias and Helmut Schelsky) forms the core of his long-term basic research. “The Emergence of Sociology from Neo-Kantian Philosophy”, “Ways of Life in Community and Society”, and “The Concept of Transculturality” are the titles of his other research areas. All of his work is of an interdisciplinary nature and forms an integral part of the research program pursued at the “Forum ‘Philosophie der Geistes- und Sozialwissenschaften’” (Forum for the Philosophy of the Humanities and Social Sciences) at the Institute of Philosophy.
Merz-Benz’s research is strongly defined by the desire to provide relevant contributions to current discourses in sociology, the humanities and the social sciences in general by participating in the elucidation of and reflection on conceptions and figures of thought that preoccupy contemporary sociology. His most current work focuses on three main areas:
1) The development of Tönnies’ theory of Gemeinschaft and Gesellschaft toward communitarianism via Schmalenbach, Weber, Vierkandt, and, above all, Parsons.
2) The systematic significance of the concepts “poiesis” and “autopoiesis” for social theory (Castoriadis) and systems theory (Luhmann).
3) The explication of anti-sociology as a consistent extension of sociological theory’s claims to critical reflection that have accompanied it from the very beginning.
For more information, please visit the web pages of Peter-Ulrich Merz-Benz.