Sociology of Ereignis: A New Ontological Foundation for Prophetic Social Science

In Indonesia’s intellectual landscape, Kuntowijoyo’s Prophetic Social Science emerged as a critical response to the dominance of Western positivism, which has been criticized for its inability to grasp the ethical and transcendental dimensions of social reality. Despite its transformative vision, this framework has long faced a fundamental challenge: the absence of a coherent ontological foundation that could sustain its three pillars—humanization, liberation, and transcendence. This research aims to address that gap by proposing Heideggerian social ontology as a new philosophical basis for Prophetic Social Science. Using a qualitative method of critical conceptual analysis, this research examines key philosophical and sociological texts through a hermeneutic–phenomenological lens. The analysis proceeds through interpretive deconstruction and reflexive engagement to uncover the ontological and epistemological assumptions behind positivism and Heideggerian thought. The findings show that positivism’s ‘flat’ ontology cannot accommodate the prophetic vision, while Heideggerian social ontology provides a more authentic foundation for a Sociology of Ereignis—a framework that centers meaningful events, reflexivity, and disclosure. The implication of this research is that sociological inquiry, especially within Muslim societies, must be reoriented toward ontologically grounded and ethically engaged methodologies that take lived meaning and transcendence seriously.