The Elementary Forms of Practical Life
A Durkheimian Genealogy of Social Practice
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 6431989 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Lorenzo Domaneschi (0000-0001-5604-8810, Department of Sociology and Social Research University of Milano‐Bicocca Milan Italy, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2025 |
| Volume | 55 |
| Issue | 4 |
| Publication date | 2025-12-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Journal for the Theory of Social Behaviour (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0021-8308 • E-ISSN: 1468-5914 |
| Publisher | Wiley (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1111/jtsb.70022 |
| OpenAlex | W4417220571 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 37 |
This article revisits the classical foundations of the concept of ‘social practice’ to reassess the epistemological and ontological assumptions underpinning the praxeological turn. Engaging critically with Marx, Weber and especially Durkheim, it shows how current practice theories often rely on partial readings of the classics, overlooking crucial resources for understanding coercion, differentiation and order. The paper argues that Durkheim's theory of ritual offers a more robust foundation for a sociology of practice and develops a bifocal framework that distinguishes between constitutive and institutional orders of practice. Drawing on contemporary interpretations of Durkheim by Rawls and Karsenti, the article demonstrates how practices simultaneously generate collective effervescence and classificatory stability, thus accounting for coercive force, nonheroic novelty and differentiated carriers ( Träger ). This Durkheimian reconstruction provides a common conceptual ground for contemporary debates, strengthening practice theory through a sociologically grounded perspective
Social Practices
The varieties of religious experience
Social Change in a Material World
Changing Practices, Changing Education
Practice-Based Theorizing on Learning and Knowing in Organizations
To start practice theorizing anew
Outline of a Theory of Practice
Questions of Practice in Philosophy and Social Theory
The Site of the Social
The Dynamics of Social Practice
The Social Body
Reassembling the Social
The Logic of Practice
Soziologische Praxistheorien
Zooming In and Out
Experiencing Practical Knowledge
What is to be done? The place of action research
Culture in Action
The political unconscious of practice theory
Introduction to the Special Issue
The Mangle of Practice
Normative Grounding and Praxis
What Durkheimian thought shares with pragmatism
Sociology face to face with pragmatism
Durkheim's Treatment of Practice
Toward a Theory of Social Practices
Social Theory as a Cognitive Neuroscience
Social Practice, Social Action, Social Magic
Theory in Anthropology since the Sixties
| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |