La Pensée 2023/1 No 413
Journal article

The rise and fall of ready-made concepts

Reflections on the invention of the urban “underclass”

Pages 28 to 38

Cite this article

  • WACQUANT, Loïc,
2023. The rise and fall of ready-made concepts Reflections on the invention of the urban “underclass” La Pensée, 2023/1 No 413, p.28-38. DOI : 10.3917/lp.413.0028. URL : https://shs.cairn.info/journal-la-pensee-2023-1-page-28?lang=en.
  • Wacquant, Loïc.
« The rise and fall of ready-made concepts : Reflections on the invention of the urban “underclass” ». La Pensée, 2023/1 No 413, 2023. p.28-38. CAIRN.INFO, shs.cairn.info/journal-la-pensee-2023-1-page-28?lang=en.
  • Wacquant, L.
(2023). The Rise and Fall of Ready-Made Concepts Reflections on the Invention of the Urban “underclass” La Pensée, No 413(1), 28-38. https://doi.org/10.3917/lp.413.0028.

https://doi.org/10.3917/lp.413.0028

Abstract
Authors

Cite this article

  • Wacquant, L.
(2023). The Rise and Fall of Ready-Made Concepts Reflections on the Invention of the Urban “underclass” La Pensée, No 413(1), 28-38. https://doi.org/10.3917/lp.413.0028.
  • Wacquant, Loïc.
« The rise and fall of ready-made concepts : Reflections on the invention of the urban “underclass” ». La Pensée, 2023/1 No 413, 2023. p.28-38. CAIRN.INFO, shs.cairn.info/journal-la-pensee-2023-1-page-28?lang=en.
  • WACQUANT, Loïc,
2023. The rise and fall of ready-made concepts Reflections on the invention of the urban “underclass” La Pensée, 2023/1 No 413, p.28-38. DOI : 10.3917/lp.413.0028. URL : https://shs.cairn.info/journal-la-pensee-2023-1-page-28?lang=en.

https://doi.org/10.3917/lp.413.0028

French
Español
English

Building on the arguments presented in my book The Invention of the “Underclass”: A Study in the Politics of Knowledge (2022), this article puts forward three notions to ward off the trappings and dangers of the “pseudo” concepts that undermine sociological thought from within. The “lemming effect,” the “conceptual speculative bubble,” and the “turnkey problem” can help us collectively practice better analytical hygiene and identify the semantic, logical, and heuristic criteria that make a good scientific concept.

  • analytical concept
  • Bourdieu
  • Koselleck
  • underclass
  • sociological epistemology

Publisher keywords: « underclass », analytical concept, Bourdieu, Koselleck, sociological epistemology

Uploaded: 04/17/2023

https://doi.org/10.3917/lp.413.0028