Searching for the Foundations of the Sociology of Suffering: Between Existential and Social Experience

Abstract

Sociology of su?ering is a branch of sociological knowledge that has been actively developing as of recently. There are certain difculties when it comes to conceptualizing the problematic and object-subject feld of sociology of su?ering. The aim of this article is to analyze the specifcs pertaining to the search for the foundations of specialized sociology, to identify its theoretical and methodological orientation, to identify the key focal points of scientific discourse, and to touch on the history of its development. The search for the foundations of sociology of suffering is conducted not in the format of “fear- pain-suffering”. The article shows that it is through differentiating between two types of human experience that a more systematic understanding of the phenomenon of suffering is possible. At the same time, social experience is highlighted as a common cause, and the phenomenon of collective suffering is correlated with the alienation of individuals or their communities and groups from the common cause. The main conclusion of the article is that the search for the foundations of sociology of suffering should be conducted at the level of simultaneous assessment of the role of existential and social experience in the emergence and consolidation of suffering in human individual and collective existence. Solely putting emphasis on existence can steer sociology towards metaphysics or psychology. On the other hand, the systematization of only social experience within the framework of sociology of suffering can reduce social experience to that which is formally accumulated, and suffering itself to such that is “attributed” to communities and groups.

Keywords

• suffering
• sociology of suffering
• social suffering
• social experience
• existential experience