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For a Sociology of Deceit: Doubled Identities, Interested Actions and Situational Logics of Opportunity

Shilling, Chris, Mellor, Philip A. (2015) For a Sociology of Deceit: Doubled Identities, Interested Actions and Situational Logics of Opportunity. Sociology, 49 (4). pp. 607-623. ISSN 0038-0385. E-ISSN 1469-8684. (doi:10.1177/0038038514546661) (The full text of this publication is not currently available from this repository. You may be able to access a copy if URLs are provided) (KAR id:50317)

The full text of this publication is not currently available from this repository. You may be able to access a copy if URLs are provided.
Official URL:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0038038514546661

Abstract

Deceit occupies a significant role in historical conceptualizations of social order, but dominant approaches to the subject are limited by the normative assumptions and conceptions of agency and structure on which they rest. This article suggests that renewed sociological engagement with deceit is overdue and can illuminate the ‘situational logics of opportunity’ within modernity (Archer, 2010). Focusing on the contemporary era, and building upon Simmel’s argument that individuals lead a ‘doubled existence’, within and outside social forms, we view deceit as neither a personal trait nor an effect of social structures. Instead, it emerges through, and assumes contrasting meanings as a consequence of, people’s interested and strategic engagements with the social world. Developing this theoretical analysis substantively, we then focus on several examples of how deceit is used to subvert or reaffirm boundaries between ‘insider’ and ‘outsider’ groups, including those emergent from sociology’s own ‘doubled existence’ relative to modern life.

Item Type: Article
DOI/Identification number: 10.1177/0038038514546661
Uncontrolled keywords: deceit, ‘doubled’ identities, insider/outsider boundaries, social order/change
Subjects: H Social Sciences > HM Sociology
Divisions: Divisions > Division for the Study of Law, Society and Social Justice > School of Social Policy, Sociology and Social Research
Depositing User: Chris Shilling
Date Deposited: 27 Aug 2015 11:07 UTC
Last Modified: 17 Aug 2022 10:59 UTC
Resource URI: https://kar.kent.ac.uk/id/eprint/50317 (The current URI for this page, for reference purposes)

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