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Abstract:
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The aim of discourse analysis is to reveal the ontological and epistemological premises which are
embedded in language, and which allows a statement to be understood as rational or interpreted as
meaningful. Discourse analysis investigates whether – in statements or texts - it is possible to
establish any regularity in the objects which are discussed; the subjects designated as actors; the
causal relations claimed to exist between objects (explanans) and subjects (explanadum); but also
the expected outcome of subjects trying to influence objects; the goal of their action; and finally the
time dimension by which these relations are framed. Discourses thus comprise the underlying
conditions for a statement to be interpreted as meaningful and rational. At the same time, discourse
analysis is the study of rationality and how it is expressed in a particular historical context.
Discourse analysis is part of the Constructivist (or Social Constructivist) approach within the
humanities and social sciences. It assumes that basic assumptions with regard to being, self and the
world are constructed by individuals living in a historical and cultural context which is produced
and reproduced by their speech acts. |
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