JADE Student Edition 2019 JADE JSLUG 2019 | Seite 110

ILAS #2
Paradigms and Dogmatism in
Sociology: Reading Beyond the Canon.
Why is sociology Eurocentric?
Abstract
Paradigms and
Dogmatism in
Sociology: Reading
Beyond the Canon.
Why is sociology
Eurocentric?
Marx, Durkheim, and Weber are dogmatically presented as
sociology’s progenitors (Alatas and Sinha, 2001: 316). Alatas and
Sinha (2017: 1)—within Sociological Theory: Beyond the Canon—
challenge the argument that sociology is the enterprise of white
western males by presenting various theorists. Reading beyond
the canon has been obfuscated by eurocentrism (Alatas and
Sinha, 2001: 316). Despite the valuable wisdom within alternative
canons, they are not extensively imparted within Universities
(Alatas and Sinha, 2001: 316). I postulate that eurocentrism is
explicable in terms of the dogmatism of this epoch’s scientific
paradigm: academia is not a ‘free market of ideas’, because ‘reigning
“paradigms” dominate the intellectual landscape’ (Bartley, 1984,
cited in Hauptli, 1993: 98). This research extends Alatas and
Sinha’s (2017) thesis by comparing Ibn Khaldūn’s (2015) arguments
about the transformation from Bedouin to sedentary society with
Durkheim’s (1933) notion of mechanical and organic solidarity
through the lens of Kuhn’s (1962) paradigms. I elucidate that we
must disseminate undogmatic philosophising, lest we maintain
eurocentrism.
Author: Mohammed
Hanif Khan
Keywords: Paradigms,
Dogmatic Sociology,
Scientific Revolution,
Eurocentrism
Keywords: Paradigms, Dogmatic Sociology, Scientific Revolution,
Eurocentrism
Introduction
Durkheim wrongly boasts that sociology developed in France
(Durkheim, 1915, cited in Rodriquez-Zúñiga, 1991: 200). While
sociology was prevalent in French academic circles, it had not
exclusively developed in France. Durkheim and his predecessor, Ibn
Khaldūn, have analogous arguments (Akbar, 2002: 25; Abdullahi
and Salawu, 2013: 30). I will compare Ibn Khaldūn’s arguments
about the transformation from Bedouin to sedentary society with
Durkheim’s mechanical and organic solidarity. I will conclude that
our Eurocentric and dogmatic scientific paradigm impedes our
ability to learn from other cultures.
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