[xmca] habitus and need

Geoff,

I'm wondering about your use of Bourdieu's concept of
"habitus".  You write: " If motive is useful (pardon the pun) it is to
alert us to the fact that our habitus predisposes us to act and
react
in particular ways.'  As I understand this concept if doesn't
predispose us to "act and react", rather the habitus provides
structures that simultaneously  enable SOCIAL ACTION and constrain it. 
Bourdieu's critique of the Mauss through Levi-Strauss use of
"reciprocity" reveals this most clearly (ch.1, Outline of a Theory of
Practice).  Whereas for M & L-S reciprocity was something of an
automatic process, Bourdieu argued that it defined a specific field of
strategic, calculating action . . . when to return the gift? where to
return the gift? these dimensions, played out within the habitus that
"reciprocity" defined in many cultures, cannot be reduced to a blind
predisposition to act and react.

Paul

i suppose most people felt a need to find some text in the previous message/

      
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Received on Thu Dec 18 23:13:11 2008