Sociological and Philosophical Perspectives

The research unit “Work, Ageing, and Welfare: Sociological and Philosophical Perspectives” takes up the relationship between work, welfare and family in various constellations and accentuations.

Work, Ageing, and Welfare: Sociological and Philosophical Perspectives (WAW)
It conducts empirical and conceptual research scrutinising the connections between welfare, work, and the family. Work figures as a main feature in any description of human life and belongs to the realm of human activities in the broadest possible sense.

Investigations
In a philosophical perspective, the main focus is:

• on the status of work in conceptions of the “good life” and in the theory of action
• in a social science perspective the main focus is on the current transformation of the workplace
• on the blurring of differences between institutionalised labour and the private sphere

Ageing belongs to the biological side of human life, yet the actual process and the perception of ageing also depend on humans' non-natural interventions. Ageing refers to the extension of life-expectancy on the one hand, the changing ratio between different generations in the social body on the other hand.

The ageing of modern societies is also a consequence of changes in the reproductive behaviour of individuals. To a considerable extent, ageing is caused by a decline of family values in modern societies. Welfare is an evaluative term that characterises the quality of life and the standard of living conditions in a comprehensive manner. In an extension this term stands for institutionalized efforts rather than for private charity.

In order to clearly distinguish a societal or collective level and the situation of individuals, we speak of (social) welfare on the one hand, (individual) well-being on the other hand. Our seven projects investigate the interrelations of these three notions.

Projects

• WAW.1-3 SOCIOLOGICAL PERSPEKTIVES
• WAW.1 Work and Aging: rapid transformations in the world of work from the perspective and in experience of workers
• WAW.2 Aging and Welfare: Childhood and youth as much neglected socio-economic categories
• WAW.3 Work and Welfare in the everyday life of ordinary families
• WAW 4-6: PHILOSOPHICAL PERSPECTIVES
• WAW.4 The Political Philosophy of Perfectionism
• WAW.5 Interdisciplinary Handbook on Happiness
• WAW.6 The status of the family in modern societies
• WAW.7 Biographies: professional careers, private lives, and the emergence of a new social fabric