Democratic order, action and decision: Contributions of Emilio De Ípola to sociological theory

Abstract

This work studies the contributions of Emilio De Ípola to the area of sociological theory between the mid-1980s and the beginning of the 21st century. During these years, this author made some significant contributions to sociology, especially in relation to its two fundamental theoretical problems: social order and social action. Regarding the first, based on a little-known work in Argentina by Émile Durkheim, De Ípola developed a series of observations on the characteristics that the State and society must acquire to found a stable democratic order. Regarding the second problem, he connected various theoretical perspectives, such as the natural semantics of action of Paul Ricoeur, the ethnomethodology of Harold Garfinkel and the contributions from Laurent Thévenot and Francisco Naishtat’s pragmatism, which enrich the classic conceptualizations of Max Weber and Talcott Parsons, leading to the incorporation of the dimension of language as part of the notion of action. Finally, the concept of decision emerges as a foundational act that bursts into a pre-existing dynamic, creating new orders and collective subjects, redefining the conditions of what is possible.

Keywords:
Emilio De Ípola; sociology; sociological theory; social order; social action