The meta-theoretical position that theories of society must themselves embrace irrational elements—that fully rational social theory is impossible because the theorist is embedded in the irrationality they study. Irrational Social Theory is reflexive: it acknowledges that social theory is shaped by the same irrational forces it analyzes—power, desire, ideology. Good social theory doesn't pretend to transcend these forces; it acknowledges its own locatedness, its own partiality, its own irrational investments.
Irrational Social Theory "Your theory claims to be objective, value-free. Irrational Social Theory says: impossible. You're a social being, shaped by the very forces you study. Your theory is partly rational, partly expression of your position, your desires, your time. Good theory admits this; bad theory pretends otherwise. The irrational isn't outside theory—it's inside it."
by Dumu The Void March 1, 2026
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