Plurality of Values in the Face of Polarized Identities. Remarks in the Context of Culture Wars

Abstract

The position defended in this paper is close to Wrocław cultural studies’ approach: values are not a simple expression of identity of any social subject and they should not be reduced to their social context. ‘Sociologization’ of values is typical for the so-called ‘culture wars’ and it results in powerful polarizations in the public sphere. For example, the ‘liberal’ values are contrasted with the ‘conservative’ ones. However, humanities and social sciences also ‘sociologize’ values when analysing phenomena in the human world through the lens of some schemas related to the social order, such as familiar–alien. The aim of the present work is to differentiate the cultural space (as an axiosphere) from the social one. This will help to transcend identities petrified by culture wars.