Adapting, defending and transforming ourselves: conceptualizations of self practices in the social science literature
Author
Karakayali, N.
Date
2015Source Title
History of the Human Sciences
Print ISSN
0952-6951
Publisher
Sage Publications Ltd.
Volume
28
Issue
1
Pages
98 - 117
Language
English
Type
ArticleItem Usage Stats
138
views
views
106
downloads
downloads
Abstract
Self practices – mental and bodily activities through which individuals try to give a shape
to their existence – have been a topic of interest in the social science literature for over a
century now. These studies bring into focus that such activities play important roles in
our relationship to our social environment. But beyond this general insight we still do not
have a framework for elucidating what kind of roles/uses have been attributed to self
practices by social theorists historically. Through an analysis of the works of 5 major
contributors to the literature (Durkheim, Mauss, Simmel, Giddens and Foucault), the
article highlights three distinct conceptualizations, which draw attention to the adaptive,
defensive and transformative uses of self practices. Adaptive uses allow individuals to
adjust their conduct to collective norms; defensive uses serve the maintenance and
protection of self-identity despite de-individualizing pressures; and transformative self
practices target the development of alternative ways of living. It is further suggested that
the framework developed in the article can provide important clues about the different
‘practical’ solutions offered by social theorists to the problems that modern individuals
face in constituting themselves as autonomous subjects.