Sociology and the history of the absent: A reflection on theoretical possibilities of an immanent history

This article examines the theoretical possibilities of writing the history of the present. In order to do so, it examines Eurocentric origins of Hegelian philosophy and its materialist counter- concepts in Marx and his philosophy. The article then tries to problematize sociology as a “scientific” discourse which is heavily reliant on the orientalist discourse with its Hegelian conceptions of history and society in the Orient. The article then argues that historical sociology is inherently western-oriented and reduces oriental histories and societies to their “absent” elements. In order to escape this theoretical dilemma, the article proposes Weber’s “historical individual” as a theoretical concept that’s capable of offering a perspective to study the history of nonwestern societies immanently. But, it’s argued, Weber’s historical individual ultimately rests on Weber’s neo-Kantian subject which deprives it of its potential to offer an immanent critique. The article then argues that Foucault’s genealogy is the best strategy to study the histories and society of non-western non-reductively and immanently.