The Time of Generations

Abstract

This article develops a discursive-pragmatic concept from Mannheim's theory of generation, especially from his idea of generation as an actuality which emphazises the collective cognitive background or horizon of a generation. The author also discusses the emergence of such a cognitive background as dependent on a coincidence of different time perspectives, which are biographical, historical, and generational times. To explicate the discursive practice of generations the concepts of `historical time' (Robinson), `historical semantics' (Luhmann), and `cultural circles' are introduced. The author works out an understanding of the `problem of generation' that should lead to empirical investigations on this topic by using interpretive and reconstructive research methods.