Cognising the Picture of «Strange Social». Review of the monograph by Alexander Golikov «Fabrication of order. Knowledge in the Constitution of Social»

Abstract

This paper is devoted to analysis of the monograph written by Alexander Golikov, Doctor of Sociological
Sciences, Associate Professor of the Department of Sociology of the Sociological Faculty of V. N. Karazin
Kharkiv National University. The author emphasizes the indisputable theoretical significance of reviewed
work, focused on the elucidation of the role of knowledge in the constitution of the social, which in the
context of globalization, virtualization and individualization of social life acquires the properties of an
«unfamiliar social». The monograph pays special attention to the processes of fabrication of various types of
knowledge, that is, the creation and dissemination of various knowledge as structural and practical factors in
the constitution of the social. It is noted that the author's research strategy is original, constructive and
productive both in theoretical and practical sense. It is emphasized that the scientific novelty of the work lies
in the conceptualization of the categorical triangle «knowledge – social – order»; in the proposed concept of
an internalized Second and a depersonalized Third as «generalized Others»; in clarifying the specifics of
communication in the production of sign-symbolic and informational forms of knowledge; in the introduction
to scientific circulation the concept of «chronotope of the order of knowledge», etc. At the same time, it is
emphasized that this fundamental monograph contains certain controversial provisions. In particular, a
clearer definitions are required by: the scientific problem of work, that is, the question of what kind of
epistemological inconsistency the author's concept solves; meaningful content of the «fabrication» category;
ideological shape of knowledge, as a result of which it becomes one of the components of manipulative
social technologies. Despite the remarks, the reviewer notes the significant heuristic potential of A. Golikov's
developments, which, in his opinion, is distinguished by a refined professional language, a high level of
scientific reliability and innovative content.