Alienation Concept And Sociological Review

Abstract

Alienation is a human phenomenon whose existence has extended to include various patterns of social, economic and political life and all cultures. The study investigated the concept of alienation, examining its historical development, and consequences within the context of sociology. Alienation, is the decrease of individual's harmony in his social, cultural and natural environment, leading to inforce loneliness and hopelessness. The use of alienation in the sense of separation was common in the German idealist philosophy, which originated the state of separation and established a system of opposite dualities. The theory of the social contract is the main source in which the concept of alienation was used in the field of philosophy. However, Durkheim (1893), dealt with alienation in the context of anomie (anomy) or the breakdown of standards and norms, while Seeman (1959) proposed his five-dimension model of alienation that is more widely accepted in the literature, that are, powerlessness, meaninglessness, normlessness, social isolation, and self-estrangement.