Rozin, V.M. Methodological analysis of zygmunt bauman’s book ‘modernity and the holocaust’

Abstract: The article is devoted to the analysis of Zygmunt Bauman’s book “Modernity and the Holocaust”. In this article Rozin describes the four basic objectives achieved by the author of the book (i. e. to provide a scientific definition of the Holocaust, to engage society and sociologists in a new interpretation of this terrible phenomenon, to criticize sociological methods and to understand lessons taught by the Holocaust). Rozin discusses Bauman’s approach to the solution of the aforesaid tasks. Based on Rozin, in his book Bauman appeared to be not only a scientist but also a philosopher, methodologist and a political writer. Rozin analyzes Bauman’s “discoveries’ in the process of solving the aforesaid tasks such as combination of different research methods (historical, humanitarian, sociological, cultural, social, psychological and institutional methods), analysis of the influence of social machines on individual mind and behavior, implementation of the technological (social engineering) approach and differentiation between the two anthropological horizons — societal and personal ones. In his analysis Rozin has used the methods of comparative analysis, methodological problematization, reconstruction of the text, interpretation and summarization. Rozin shares his impression of Bauman using the Holocaust more like the ground to search for new ways of studying social phenomena. Moreover, Bauman wrote that the main causes of the Holocaust were: unusual coincidence of circumstances, European anti-Semitism tradition, implementation of the racist theory by the fascist state, social-engineering approach to the society and human and transformation of minds of particular individuals and general population influenced by a well established social technology.

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