Towards an ethics of ontoformativity: reflections and propositions on the ontological relation between theory and research in the contemporary sociology of the Global South
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1590/s0102-6992-202237030006Keywords:
Social Theory – ontology -Southern theory – ontoformativity – post-colonial sociologAbstract
The paper assesses the ontological relations between social theory and the empirical research in Sociology. It claims that the ontological perspective of the hegemonic social theory re-strains the possibilities for the emergence of research subjects in the discipline, turning non-modern and non-hegemonic elements into conceptually irrelevant beings. In order to super-sede such restrictions, an ethics of ontoformativity approach is suggested as an appropriate way to balance the roles of the theory and research. The potential of such an approach is demonstrated by the ontological challenges posed by the Yoruba indigenous sociology pro-posed by A. Akiwowo.
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