Download - HSRC Press

Free download from www.hsrcpress.ac.za(1) powerlessness,(2) normlessness,(4) isolation,(3) self-estrangement, and(5) meaninglessness.Each of these five phenomena are then defined in greater detail. Powerlessnessrefers to the expectation on the part of an individual that he does not havecomplete control of his behaviour. Normlessness refers to the expectation thatsocially unacceptable behaviour is required in order to attain specific goals.Meaninglessness may be defined as a low expectation that it is possible tomake meaningful predictions about the future consequences of behaviour.Isolation is a tendency to attribute little value to convictions or ideals which aretypically highly valued. Self-estrangement indicates a degree of dependenceupon specific forms of behaviour for expected future consequences ofbehaviour.Once again it is evident that we are dealing with a coherent theory. Anelucidation of the reasons which lead to alienation is provided (expandingbureaucracy, increased social mobility, increased impersonality, and so on), aswell as a further explication of the meaning of alienation. As in the case ofMarx, it is clear that conceptual analysis by means of theoretical definitionconsists of the explication of the concept by the use of other concepts whichare frequently better known. In the present case the concepts powerlessness,normlessness, meaninglessness, isolation, and self-alienation were used.In other definitions of alienation different dimensions of the concept areemphasized. Keniston pays attention to the distinction between alienation fromsociety and self-alienation:In societies in which the transition from childhood to adulthood isunusually painful, young people often form their own youth culture with aspecial set of anti-adult values and institutions, in which they can at leasttemporarily negate the feared life of the adult... (Self-alienation refers to)alienation of man from his own creative potentialities, imbedded in hisfantasy life (I960: 163-164).In his typology of the dimensions of alienation, Stroup (1961) included thefollowing: indifference, isolation, self-estrangement, powerlessness, loneliness,meaninglessness, disenchantment, and anonymity. In the same manner it wouldbe possible to demonstrate how various scientists have attempted to define theterm alienation more exactly in different theories and typologies. We shall,however, conclude with these examples.Theoretical validityIf one were to analyze what happens during the process of theoretical defini-62