A Critique of Reflectivity (Is It Even Possible?)
Reflectivity is a popular theme that in its own manner reflects an important evolution in the way social practices are thought about. For this very reason, however, its conception is still unstable and it has multiple senses and usages, to say the least. Undertaking conceptual work on the notion of reflectivity first requires that one show how it has undergone the normative inflation that has established it as such an expected logical category that critiquing it almost seems unthinkable. This very (overly) positive aura must be dissipated so that rigorous theoretical work can emerge. The present article proposes to contribute to a theory of reflectivity by describing the area of dispersion of the notion’s use, distributed across five logical levels.