Conceptualized Social Fact:A Critique of Marshall McLuhan's View of the Media
The popularity of Marshall McLuhan's media view has influenced the way people understand the media.His arguments,however,are problematic in two aspects:First,McLuhan overemphasizes the technical properties of the media,and ignores the role of media content for social life.Second,in his media view,the human construction of society disappears.As a reply to the inadequacies in McLuhan's media theory,this article proposes the concept"conceptualized social fact"as an explanatory framework to redefine the media.The so-called"concept,"originated from extant social facts,is conceptualized through media transmission and construction,enters social experience autonomously,hence transforming the social facts and generating new ones.The media make it possible to conceptualize social facts,while the conceptualized social facts redefine the media:the media are the"oxygen generators"The concept is"water"as a raw material,and the product"oxygen"is the conceptualized social fact.In the new media era,the role of the media as an"oxygen generator"has been strengthened,and conceptualized social facts are more common,due to the media's increased ability to store information as well as the more equal and deeper interaction between people and the media.In addition,the"conceptualized social fact"offers a perspective to our understanding of the tension between the structure and construction,and the objectivity and subjectivity.
万方数据
维普
