Translational conflicts

该研究项目从两个基本假设开始：首先，它是基于对现代社会功能分化的诊断。研究视角集中在现代社会中根本不同的功能逻辑和取向之间不可避免的冲突。其次，研究项目以假设开始，即公共辩论的冲突不仅涉及不同的规范取向或永无止境地寻找良好理由的问题。相反，这些冲突源于功能分化的基本结构。该研究项目将通过三个案例来实证证明这一点，这三个案例引发了公众的争论：器官捐赠、包皮环切术之间的冲突和姑息治疗领域。这三个案例有一个共同之处，那就是它们引起了广泛的公众关注。这些辩论的特点是不同出身的发言者之间的冲突。它们可以看作是一般案例，能够代表不同社会功能逻辑之间、不同职业之间、不同知识形式之间的翻译冲突结构。主题翻译可以让人看到，不同的视角不可能毫无保留地相互转换。这就是为什么公共辩论经常陷入棘手的冲突，而这些冲突必须通过经验来解决。在对这三个案例的分析之外，本研究项目力求用实证的方法来探讨功能分化的理论形象。一方面，这项研究想要驳斥这样一种批评，即分化意味着劳动分工，或者是社会中不同部分之间缺乏联系。这种诊断源于对理论数据的误读。我们的研究涉及的问题是，一个现代社会如何应对其分化，关于一个没有调节、协调或指导中心功能的社会，而是一个必须每天呈现自我描述的社会。

The research project begins with two basic assumptions: Firstly it is based on the diagnosis of a functional differentiation of modern society. The research perspectve is focused on the inevitable conflicts between radically different functional logics and orientations in modern society. Secondly the research project begins with the assumption, that the conflicts of public debates do not only refer to different normative orientations or to the problem of the never ending search of good reasons. In contrary, the conflicts stem from the basic structure of functional differentiation. The research project will demonstrate this empirically using the examples of three cases, which have provoked public debates: the donation of organs, the conflicts among circumcision, and the field of palliative care. These three cases have in common, that they cause debates with broad public attention. These debates are characterized by conflicts between speakers from different origins. They can be regarded as generic cases, which are able to represent the structure of translational conflicts between different functional logics of society, between different professions and different forms of knowledge. The topic translation can make visible, that the different perspectives cannot become transfered into one another without remainder. This is why public debates often get into intractable conflicts, which however have to be solved empirically. Beyond the analysis of these three cases the research project pursues the goal to discuss the theoretical figure of functional differentiation with empirical means. On the one hand the research wants to reject the criticism, that differentiation means division of labour or something like a lack of contact between the differentiated parts of society. Such diagnoses stem from missreadings of theoretical figures. Our research deals with the problem, how a modern society can cope with its differentiation, regarding a society without a moderating, coordinating or steering central function, but a society that has to present self-descriptions day by day.