From character to habitus in sociology

Bibliographic Data

ID12007892
AuthorsThomas Meisenhelder (California State University, San Bernardino, corresponding author)
Year2006
Volume43
Issue1
Pages55-66
Publication date2006-02-10
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueThe Social Science Journal (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0362-3319 • E-ISSN: 1873-5355
PublisherTaylor & Francis (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1016/j.soscij.2005.12.005
OpenAlexW1973044463
LanguageEN
Citations received10
References cited16

The idea of social character has a long and important history within sociological thought. The concept addresses the fundamental question of the relationship between society and the individual, structure and agency. Tracing the development of the idea of social character from the classical sociology of Marx and Weber to more contemporary writings within American sociology by figures such as Fromm, Reisman, and Mills reveals ideas and perspectives central to the development of social theory. Although many argue that the idea of social character is no longer important in sociology, it has in fact resurfaced in Pierre Bourdieu's notion of habitus. Habitus specifies the original idea of social character without the biological or essentialist traits found in most of the earlier work. Habitus marks a substantial advance beyond earlier ideas of social character, providing a more purely sociological answer to the structure/agency (society/individual) problematic

Agency (philosophy · Character (mathematics · Cultural capital · Epistemology · Essentialism · Field (mathematics · Habitus · History of sociology · Social character · Social science · Social theory · Sociological theory · Sociology · Structure and agency · Anthropology · Contemporary Sociological Theory and Practice · Management and Organizational Studies · Philosophy · Social and Cultural Dynamics

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