printLife World as a Basic Concept of the Sociology of Life
Toshchenko Zh.T.
Corresponding Member of RAS, Scientific Director of the Sociological Department of the Russian State University for the Humanities; Chief Researcher of the Institute of Sociology of FCTAS RAS, Moscow, Russia zhantosch@mail.ru
The article was prepared with the support of the RSF grant No. 23-18-00092.
Toshchenko Zh.T. Life World as a Basic Concept of the Sociology of Life. Sotsiologicheskie issledovaniya [Sociological Studies]. 2024. No 7. P. 10-22
The article reveals new facets of such a recently revived sociological concept as the life world. It briefly describes the history of its emergence in scientific research and its embodiment in real practical activities of people. It reveals also how its individual characteristics and indicators were tested and refined in the process of theoretical and empirical studies. The most successful works describing and analyzing it are discussed, although not all of them used this concept. The author shows what role this concept plays in enriching our understanding of people’s lives in all its combinations. Citing the existing interpretations of the life-world in sociology, the author offers a possible variant of its analysis, when the life-world of a person is considered a) as a citizen, b) as a resident of a certain spatial formation (city, town, village), c) as a member of an industrial organization and finally d) as a participant in relations in the micro-environment, i.e. in the structure of interpersonal relations. In conclusion, the features of the use of the concept of life world in the context of the theoretical concept of the sociology of life are summarized.
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