Fully discursive theory commits ‘reductionism upward’ by collapsing operates-like into is

Evidence

For Stuart, Laclau’s work is crucial in understanding the contingent forms of connection between ideology and social forces in a way that breaks with the “necessitarian and reductionist logic which has dogged classical Marxist theories of ideology.” He comments positively on the extent to which Laclau’s approach allows us to develop many of Gramsci’s fundamental insights into these issues. 11 In the end, however, he is determined to refuse the inflation of discourse theory, which he sees to have developed to the point where it is as much of an unhelpful “reductionism upward”—to the point where, famously, it can be claimed that nothing exists outside of discourse—as crude materialism was a reductionism downward. — Hall, Stuart, Essential Essays, Volume 1, 304 (#corroborates, via linked claim)

Categorization

Category: Contrarian or Surprising Claims

Related

• Discourse theory’s claim that nothing exists outside discourse is reductionism upward (similarity 0.83)
• Discourse theory merely relocates contradiction from structure to the unconscious. (similarity 0.81)

Broader Connections

• Discourse theory’s claim that nothing exists outside discourse is reductionism upward #corroborates (0.85) — Hall, Stuart, Essential Essays, Volume 1, 304
• The discursive turn requires reintroducing the subject as non-unitary and internally contradictory #qualifies (0.50)