The conception of the thin individual is one that there is no real inner self waiting to unfold, but rather a malleable dumb creature. According to the thin conception of the individual, what is taken as innate human attributes, such as to think, act, and so on, are just cultural and historical variables. As Colin Wilson suggests, Descartes should have followed his assertion ‘I think therefore I am’ with the question ‘Yes but who am I’? Not the social constructed person or even the socio-technical person. The inner world reality of consciousness, the will to love, fight, have sexual relations etc. As Erich Fromm claims, many sociologists are in essence apologists for and not critics of the existing social system.
Table of Contents
1. The‘thin’ conception of the individual. What are the strengths and weaknesses of this ‘thin’ understanding?
Objectives and Topics
The primary objective of this work is to critically examine the sociological concept of the "thin" individual, which posits that human agency and consciousness are not innate, but rather products of social, historical, and material arrangements. The analysis evaluates the strengths and limitations of this perspective by contrasting it with "thick" conceptions of the self, ultimately questioning how different forms of personhood are constructed within contemporary socio-technical systems.
- The theoretical dichotomy between social structure and individual agency.
- The role of "agencements" and distributed agency in Actor-Network Theory (ANT).
- Bourdieu’s concept of "habitus" as a bridge between structure and individual action.
- The critique of thin conceptions regarding their inability to account for an autonomous inner self.
- The socio-political implications of viewing human behavior through the lens of neo-liberal systems.
Excerpt from the Book
The‘thin’ conception of the individual. What are the strengths and weaknesses of this ‘thin’ understanding?
The conception of the thin individual is one that there is no real inner self waiting to unfold, but rather a malleable dumb creature. According to the thin conception of the individual what is taken as innate human attributes, such as to think, act, etc are just cultural and historical variables (Mc Fall, 2015a). In addition, this agency to act requires equipment, training, props and techniques (McFall, 2015b). This is an enduring theoretical dilemma since the inception of sociology of how much significance should be given to social structure or human agency (McFall, 2015).
Sociologist Alan Dawe (1970) cited in (du Gay & McFall, 2008, p.4) refers to this dualism as the ‘two sociologies’ that is one concerned with structure and structural constraint (macro), the other with individual action and agency (micro). Structural theories start with the premise that the society is outside of the individual, whilst action-agency theories start with the premise that individuals are free autonomous beings. Elias (1939) cited in (McFall, 2008, p29) rejects this dichotomous way and sees both the individual and society as two sides of the same coin. This essay will also show that there can be no social without individuals and vice versa. A sociological analysis of how people conduct themselves will be applied to the concepts of agencement and habitus. However, a critique of thin conceptions of the individual will favour a version of sociology that can answer why different kinds of personhood are constructed.
Summary of Chapters
The‘thin’ conception of the individual. What are the strengths and weaknesses of this ‘thin’ understanding?: This chapter explores the theoretical framework of the "thin" individual, analyzing how sociological perspectives move between structure and agency to define human capacity and consciousness through historical and cultural variables.
Keywords
Thin individual, Agency, Social structure, Agencement, Habitus, Bourdieu, Actor-network theory, Sociology, Personhood, Neo-liberalism, Consciousness, Social worlds, Techniques of the body, Human action, Identity.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the central focus of this sociological work?
The work investigates the "thin" conception of the individual, which challenges the idea of an innate, autonomous self by suggesting that human identity and agency are shaped by historical, cultural, and material environments.
What are the primary themes discussed in the paper?
Key themes include the distribution of agency through "agencements," the influence of Bourdieu’s "habitus" on social behavior, the socio-technical nature of modern existence, and a critique of the limitations of descriptive sociologies.
What is the core research question?
The research asks what the strengths and weaknesses are of the "thin" understanding of the individual and how this perspective accounts for the construction of different forms of personhood.
Which scientific methodology is applied?
The author employs a critical sociological analysis, synthesizing existing theoretical frameworks such as Actor-Network Theory (ANT) and Bourdieu’s structuralism to evaluate contemporary definitions of human agency.
What subjects are covered in the main section?
The main section covers the dichotomy between macro-structuralism and micro-agency, the historical development of "body techniques," the role of neo-liberalism in shaping self-service behavior, and the necessity of a "thick" account of the individual.
Which keywords best describe this research?
The research is characterized by terms such as thin individual, agency, agencement, habitus, and the critique of institutionalized capitalist systems.
How does the author define the relationship between the individual and society?
The author argues that the individual and society are two sides of the same coin, emphasizing that social processes are fundamental to the creation of individual identity.
What is the role of 'agencements' in this study?
Agencements refer to the networks of relations between people, objects, and technical devices; the study suggests that agency is not an inner human trait but is distributed across these networks.
What critique does the author level against Actor-Network Theory (ANT)?
The author argues that ANT overstates the degree to which agency is distributed and ignores the power dynamics of who gains or loses in socio-technical systems, effectively failing to provide a deeper critical stance on societal inequalities.
What is the significance of the "thin" versus "thick" conception of the individual?
While the "thin" conception excels at describing how mundane habits are shaped by structures, the "thick" conception is identified as necessary for understanding the human capacity to exercise agency and potentially transform the social order.
- Citar trabajo
- Martine Quinn (Autor), 2016, The "thin" conception of the individual. What are the strengths and weaknesses of this "thin" understanding?, Múnich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/351566
