Social differentiation. A subject-oriented perspective

Abstract

Sociology as an academic discipline has matured with the basic idea of social differentiation. Theories of stratification as well as those of functional differentiation both have their roots in this concept. When discussing mechanisms of integration, there are some important factors beyond social structures which have to be mentioned. As will be pointed out, social differentiation is decisively based on individual acts of integration. Against this background, this paper takes a `'subject-oriented perspective.'' The structure of this article is as follows: First, social differentiation is described as a pro cess of dissocation from the requirements of integration. Second, individual acts of integration are discussed as adequate reactions to this societal shortcoming. Third, those acts which have social effects can be described as effective in the ongoing process of differentation. Finally, the potential of the perspective outlined here is discussed in terms of decreasing the gap between the two ``grand theories'' of society touched upon.