Concept in Definition ABC

The concept of habitus —Latin term that expresses the idea of ​​“way of being”, “attitude”, “disposition” — was developed by the French sociologist Pierre Bourdieu (1930-2002), occupying a central role in his theory. The notion of habitus is not equivalent to what we mean by habit in everyday language, but rather comprises a set of principles that structure our ways of perceive, value and act, which we acquire and reproduce by the mere fact of belonging to a group Social. These are structural principles that generate dispositions, habits, ways of feeling, by virtue of the which people who belong to the same social space will act in a similar way in situations similar.

Bourdieu develops the notion of habitus to explain the rituals by means of which marriages were formed in a society given, pointing out that shared strategies could be observed that were repeated between the cases singular. Such strategies were not limited to explicit mating norms, but responded to implicitly accepted behaviors.

The habitus as structure

The habitus appears as a set of structuring principles of the perception and of the conduct of individuals within a certain social group, as such actions rule. They are, in this sense, the “paradigms” that order social practices and the meanings that they acquire in the social space. These principles are incorporated into mental schemes and bodily dispositions through the socialization of individuals, from their childhood. Consequently, they make up a tacit knowledge, which is not mediated by the individual's conscience, but works as a practical "automatism".

There is no single habitus homogeneous for an entire society, but rather, when speaking of habitus, reference is made to the adjustment between the material conditions of existence of the subjects —associated with their position within social classes, according to the economic resources available; as well as their insertion in social institutions—and a system of dispositions, practices and symbolic representations that reaffirm the belonging of such subjects to the social group defined by those conditions. The habitus, as a structuring structure, has an objective character; that is, it is not subjective, since it does not depend on each individual and their conscious decisions, but rather it is what determines the field of possible decisions for that individual.

As an objective system, the existence of the habitus transcends isolated subjects, which is why Bourdieu characterizes it as "durable" and, in turn, "transferable", either because an individual manifests the same habitus in interchangeable fields (for example, in his gastronomic tastes, his musical tastes, his leisure activities, etc.), or because he reproduces that habitus by transferring it to others in instances of socialization (such as child rearing or education institutional).

For example, him habitus of a person belonging to the upper classes of a society will determine their cultural consumption (what type of music they will listen to, what works they will go to see theater), their ways of dressing, speaking, their gestures and others; which, probably, will not coincide with those of a person belonging to a marginalized social group. Thus, taking another example, it is statistically verified that, compared to a similar academic performance, the lower-class families find it more difficult for their children to access and remain in the education system formal.

On the one hand, the set of social provisions and practices depends on belonging to a certain group and, on the other, reaffirms it. In the same sense, the objectivity of the habitus it reflects that this does not consist of an express mandate to which obedience is due, for example, it is not an order that can be issued from political power; rather, it is produced collectively, as a result of elective affinities between the members of a group.

habitus and common sense

Another way to refer to habitus it is through the notion of common sense, that is, the sense that regulates the socially expected reactions in a given situation, as well as public opinions. Note that this dimension of the habitus makes it a substratum for the exercise of domination, since it operates as a foundation for the legitimacy of power, which is taught "pedagogically" from primary socialization. In this way, the perpetuation of arbitrary mechanisms in the exercise of social and political command becomes possible. As a counterpart, the modification of social conditions entails a transformation of the habitus.

References

Garcia, J. s. m. (2017). the habit. An analytical review. International Journal of Sociology, 75(3), e067-e067.