Perceiving the Social Body

A Phenomenological Perspective on Ethical Practice in B uddhist T hailand

Bibliographic Data

ID5826488
AuthorsFelicity Aulino (0000-0003-1400-6799, University of Massachusetts Amherst, corresponding author)
Year2014
Volume42
Issue3
Pages415-441
Publication date2014-07-22
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Religious Ethics (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0384-9694 • E-ISSN: 1467-9795
PublisherWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1111/jore.12064
OpenAlexW1898312829
LanguageEN
Citations received15
References cited42

This essay develops the concept of the "social body" as a metaphorical representation of hierarchical relationships in T hailand, as well as the physical embodiment of social, religious, and political structures. To do so, I trace the symbolic coordinates of groups that correspond to conceptions of individual bodies, along with the habituated means of perceiving as part of a collective. I argue that conventional T hai social interactions involve active attention to and care of the "social body," in which differential roles are necessary for group functioning. Ethnographic descriptions of social interactions in public and semi-private arenas depict the spontaneous and embodied root of moral action in these contexts. The values thus enacted, however, challenge normative ideals of distributive justice and open up questions about "care" for a social body that validates unequal power and resource distribution

Action (physics · Embodied cognition · Epistemology · Ethnography · Normative · Power (physics · Social group · Social representation · Sociology · TRACE (psycholinguistics) · Anthropological Studies and Insights · Philosophy · Psychology · Social Psychology · Southeast Asian Sociopolitical Studies · Vietnamese History and Culture Studies

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