Balogh, Gábor; theoretical sociologist

Gábor Balogh (1951) is a sociologist and an associate professor, PhD at the Institute of Sociology of the Pázmány Péter Catholic University, Piliscsaba. He received his BA and licence of theology from Budapest Faculty of Catholic Theology (Facultas Theologica Budapestiensis-1979). He holds a degree from the MKKE Institute for Postgraduate Economic Studies (1987) and acquired a PhD in sociology from Budapest University of Economic Sciences and Public Administration (2003).

Professional experiences:

Hungarian National Insurance, Directory of Budapest and Pest County (insurance inspector, 1980-1985); Hungarian Parliament (MP, 1990-1994); Institute of Sociology, Pázmány Péter Catholic University (associate professor, 1995-); Budapest University of Economic Sciences and Public Administration (lecturer, 1998-2001)

Research areas:

economic sociology, management sociology, social insurance, information society and sociomatics

Intellectual profile:

The life of Gábor Balogh has been determined by the principles of lifelong learning and "teaching by learning from life". He has an innovative and creative scientific character, who is bored of monotony. Even in Balogh's professional and scientific career indicates this, since he has been changing his occupation in every 4-5 years and has been studying three different scientific disciplines. His scientific career can be divided into 3 parts. He has studied theology and its application in the 70s, both study of economics and its practise in the 80s; and was engaged in politics and in professional life in the 90s. His observations are associated with pragmatic and personalist-existentialist mentality, and culminating in his sight of life-society, in the special conception of homo informaticus and information society, and in developing national insurance to a scientific discipline. The author is recently dedicated to found the new knowledge discipline of sociomatics that examines the information activity of the social area (social economy). It marks also his essays written in the new millennium and also in his PhD-thesis titled "Rational Action and Collective Choice in the Social Insurance".

Major publications: A gazdaság társadalmi dimenziói (Social Dimensions of Economy, Osiris-BIP, Budapest, 2001)

Major publications with others:

A tudás társadalma I-II. (The Society of Knowledge, Stratégiakutató Intézet, Ipargazdaság Kutató Intézet, Nemzeti Ifjúságkutató Intézet, 2002); Metodológia, társadalom, gazdaság (Methodology, Society, Economy; In memoriam László Bertalan, Budapest, 2004)

Other activities:

Gábor Balogh used to play soccer and table tennis in his leisure time.

e-mail: bgabor@btk.ppke.hu