Main trends of research in the social and human ... - unesdoc - Unesco

I 14 P. F. Lazarsfeld
approach here can be fairly easily located. In one sense it resembles Parsons who
applies a number of his basic concepts to a variety of topics such as the medical
system, child-rearing, relations between nations, etc. More specifically, Adorno
emphasizes latent functions, that is, connections which are not easily recognized
by the superficial observer. But as a characteristic ingredient, he adds emphasis
on those latent functions which, in his opinion, serve to deceive modern man and
mask from him the nature of a basically bad society. Thus one finds in his
writings many statements like the following: ‘theory wants to point out what
secretly keeps the whole machinery working’; ‘empirically observed facts do not
reflect the underlying true social relations; they are the veil by which these
relations are masked’. Adorno keeps reverting to the idea that social reality must
be observed and studied, but for purposes of demystification and unmasking.91
As one illustration one can take his contention that music in our times has become
a fetish. We live in a world of promotion, propaganda and advertising
which forces upon us the categories in which we perceive the world. We believe
in star performers, although few of us could distinguish one good violinist
from another. The same is true for fine instruments, and yet we flock to a concert
where the performer is scheduled to use a genuine Stradivarius. Of a major
symphony we can hear and remember only the main themes; as a matter of
fact in ‘music appreciation’ courses we use devices which reinforce this reificationp2
serious, popular, and other types of music are forced upon us by radio
schedules, etc. Only detailed study of this kind of analysis can convey its
creative element; there is no doubt that it enriches sociological thinking.
t But on another front Adorno and his followers have done much harm. The
matter is best explained by a brief retrospective account. When, after the war,
the majority of the Frankfurt group returned to Germany, they at first tried to
convey to their German colleagues the merits of empirical social research which
they had observed in the United States. In 1951 they convened a general meeting
on the role of empirical social research, chaired by the venerable Leopold von
Wiese.93 Adorno presented the main report. Obviously, the older generation of
sociologists feared that these new methods would endanger the humanistic
traditions of their work. Adorno provided many concrete examples to demonstrate
how all aspects of sociology can be enriched by empirical studies (pp.
30-33). Of course, quantitative findings have to be interpreted, but this is
known by all intelligent research workers. He was especially anxious to dispel
the idea ‘widely held in Germany that empirical social research merely consists
in counting the opinions of individuals and overlooks the many problems due
to the dynamics of group life ... In the majority of such studies, depth interviews
are combined. with quantitative findings and compared to the reaction of
people in isolation and in group situations’. (Condensed translation from p.
35.) Together with some insightful criticisms, this paper could stand today as a
most adequate discussion on the contribution of concrete empirical studies to
general sociology.
Within a period of five years, however, the situation changed completely.
Adorno embarked on an endless series of articles dealing with the theme of
theory and empirical research. These became more and more strident, and the