Abstract
This chapter addresses the troubles that modern western notions of “individual” have caused in social thought, social science, and more recently in socio-environmental studies. A review of historical and scientific evidence showing contemporary notions of individualism to be anomalous and blatantly wrong underscores the need for concepts more appropriate to the task of communicating about the dynamic and inherently social nature of individual persons. The concept of habitus is proposed as a helpful alternative. Its meaning and importance are discussed within the context of the socio-environmental synthesis framework.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Biddle, Craig. 2014. “Individualism vs. Collectivism: Our Future, Our Choice.” The Objective Standard, February 2. https://www.theobjectivestandard.com/issues/2012-spring/individualism-collectivism/?add-to-cart=10556.
Bourdieu, Pierre. 1990 [1980]. The Logic of Practice, translated by Richard Nice. Cambridge: Polity Press.
Bourdieu, Pierre. 1977 [1972]. Outline of a Theory of Practice, translated by Richard Nice. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Bourdieu, Pierre, and Loïc J. D. Wacquant. 1992. An Invitation to Reflexive Sociology. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
DeSalle, Rob, and Susan L. Perkins. 2015. Welcome to the Microbiome. New Haven and London: Yale University Press.
Edelman, Gerald, and Giulio Tononi. 2000. A Universe of Consciousness: How Matter Becomes Imagination. New York, NY: Basic Books.
Elias, Norbert. 1991. The Society of Individuals. New York and London: Continuum.
Gopnik, Adam. 2011. “All Alike.” The New Yorker, January 3. https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2011/01/03/all-alike.
Kollmuss, Anja, and Julian Agyeman, 2002. “Mind the Gap: Why Do People Act Environmentally and What Are the Barriers to Pro-Environmental Behavior?” Environmental Education Research 8(3): 239–260.
Markus, Hazel Rose, and Shinobu Kitayama. 1991. “Culture and the Self. Implications for Cognition, Emotion, and Motivation.” Psychological Review 98(2): 224–253.
Montgomery, David R., and Anne Bikle. 2016. The Hidden Half of Nature: The Microbial Roots of Life and Health. New York and London: W. W. Norton.
Peikoff, Leonard. 2018. “Ayn Rand’s Ideas, An Overview.” https://www.aynrand.org/ideas/overview.
Reid, Ann, and Shannon Greene. 2013. “Human Microbiome: FAQ, Report From the American Academy of Microbiology.” Washington, DC: American Academy of Microbiology.
Siegel, Dan. 2012. The Developing Mind. New York, NY: The Guilford Press.
Specter, Michael. 2012. “Germs Are Us.” The New Yorker, October 22. https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2012/10/22/germs-are-us.
Triandis, Harry. C. 1995. Individualism and Collectivism. New York, NY: Westview Press.
Vignoles, Vivian L., and Ellinor Owe, M. Becker, P. B. Smith, et al. 2016. “Beyond the ‘East–West’ Dichotomy: Global Variation in Cultural Models of Selfhood.” Journal of Experimental Psychology: General 145(8):966–1000.
Weinhard, Laetitia, Giulia di Bartolomei, Giulia Bolasco, Pedro Machado, et al. 2018. “Microglia Remodel Synapses by Presynaptic Trogocytosis and Spine Head Filopodia Induction.” Nature Communications 9(1228):March 26. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-018-03566-5.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2021 The Author(s)
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Kasper, D. (2021). Second Nature. In: Beyond the Knowledge Crisis. Palgrave Studies on Norbert Elias. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-48370-8_7
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-48370-8_7
Published:
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-030-48369-2
Online ISBN: 978-3-030-48370-8
eBook Packages: Social SciencesSocial Sciences (R0)