Constellation research and sociology of philosophy

Abstract

Sociology of philosophy is the name of a theory-based, empirical sociological subdivision, whose basic approach is praxeological: doing philosophy involves a variety of socially situated practices that in some cases result in philosophical arguments and doctrines fixed in text. Constellation research is an approach developed by the German philosopher Dieter Henrich (1927–2022) for investigations into the history of philosophy. It combines a historical and a systematic intent and interest. Constellation research has primarily been tried out on the rapid development of post-Kantian idealism in Germany in the 1790s. The approach has some obvious similarities with different approaches within the sociology of philosophy. The article first gives a condensed presentation of constellation research as a research program. In a second step, it tries to sort out similarities and dissimilarities with key concepts, topics and approaches within the sociology of philosophy. The argument put forward is that constellation research can provide the sociology of philosophy with some novel ideas and that the sociology of philosophy may prove to be a useful resource to constellation research. In short, there is a potential for cross-fertilization between the two approaches.