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Habit and Custom in the History of Early Modern Philosophy

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Encyclopedia of Early Modern Philosophy and the Sciences

Synonyms

Disposition; Manners; Moral standards; Pattern; Second nature; Tendency

Definition

Habit and custom are important notions in the works of many early modern authors. They are conceptual tools used in many cases: in moral accounts without recourse to religious principles; in political accounts to explain crucial processes such as the establishment of laws; in physiological accounts to describe the way the body and the brain function; and in epistemological accounts to report how people think. Habit and custom are closely related and sometimes even synonyms. Their meanings fluctuate depending on their use and the context, yet they remain powerful notions.

The term habit has, in English as well as in the main western philosophical languages, a history that has its roots in Greek and Latin. Etymologically habit derives from the Latin habitus, which in turn derives (like its correlated habitudo) from the verb habere, that is, “to possess.” Habitus translates the Greek hexiswhich...

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Philosophy, Communication and Performing Arts, Roma Tre University, Rome, Italy

    Catherine Dromelet & Marco Piazza

  2. Lendület Morals and Science Research Group, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Budapest, Hungary

    Catherine Dromelet

Authors
  1. Catherine Dromelet
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  2. Marco Piazza
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Catherine Dromelet .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Philosophy, University of Bucharest, Bucharest, Romania

    Dana Jalobeanu

  2. Dept. of Philosophy and Moral Sciences, Ghent University Dept. Philosophy & Moral Sci, Ghent, Oost-Vlaanderen, Belgium

    Charles T. Wolfe

Section Editor information

  1. University College London, London, UK

    Angus Gowland

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Dromelet, C., Piazza, M. (2020). Habit and Custom in the History of Early Modern Philosophy. In: Jalobeanu, D., Wolfe, C. (eds) Encyclopedia of Early Modern Philosophy and the Sciences. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-20791-9_379-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-20791-9_379-1

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  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-20791-9

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