Which Relational Sociology? A Non-Relationist Perspective
In this paper, the author presents his original version of relational sociology, based upon critical realism, which is also called ‘relational theory of society’. It shares with other versions of relational sociology the aim to understand ‘social facts’ as relationally constituted entities. But it differs from the radically constructivist and relativistic versions (here referred to as ‘relationist sociologies’) as regard the way in which social relations are defined, the kind of reality that is attributed to them, the paths through which they are generated and changed (social morphogenesis), and how they configure social formations. The paper clarifies the advantages that this original perspective offers in explaining social phenomena as emergent. In particular, it can orient social research toward unseen and/or immaterial realities. Empirically, it can show how new social forms are created, changed, or destroyed depending on different processes of valorization or devalorization of social relations. Ultimately, this approach points to the possibility of highlighting those relational processes that can better realize the humanity of social agents and give them, as relational subjects, the opportunity to achieve a good life.