Dados is one of the most widely-read social sciences journals in Latin America. Created in 1966, it publishes innovative works, originating from academic research, by Brazilian and foreign authors. Edited by IESP-UERJ, it aims to reconcile scientific rigor and academic excellence with an emphasis on public debate based on the analysis of substantive issues of society and politics.
Dados vol. 43 n. 4 Rio de Janeiro 2000
Abstract
This article analyzes the limits of sociology in understanding recent transformations in modernity. Of particular interest are the epistemological difficulties found at the theoretical roots of sociology in dealing with the tasks arising from the biotechnological revolution currently under way and its eugenic impacts on future society. The paper’,s argument is that the main task is an interdisciplinary review of relations between the concept of human nature and prevailing social and political values. In order to better comprehend the radical challenge of modernity in the 21st century vis-à-vis classical modernity’,s values, two heuristic figures are presented: the dilemma of technical modernity and the contradiction of sociology.
Keywords: social theory, modernity, human nature, eugenics
DOI: 10.1590/S0011-52582000000400005
The sadness of being a sociologist in the 21st century
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