A History of Habit

From Aristotle to Bourdieu

Nonfiction, Religion & Spirituality, Philosophy, History, Criticism, & Surveys, Mind & Body
Cover of the book A History of Habit by Jeffrey Bell, Nick Crossley, William O. Stephens, Shannon Sullivan, David Leary, Margaret Watkins, Robert Miner, Thornton Lockwood, Terrance MacMullan, Peter Fosl, Dennis Des Chene, Clare Carlisle, Edward Casey, Lexington Books
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Author: Jeffrey Bell, Nick Crossley, William O. Stephens, Shannon Sullivan, David Leary, Margaret Watkins, Robert Miner, Thornton Lockwood, Terrance MacMullan, Peter Fosl, Dennis Des Chene, Clare Carlisle, Edward Casey ISBN: 9780739181997
Publisher: Lexington Books Publication: June 10, 2013
Imprint: Lexington Books Language: English
Author: Jeffrey Bell, Nick Crossley, William O. Stephens, Shannon Sullivan, David Leary, Margaret Watkins, Robert Miner, Thornton Lockwood, Terrance MacMullan, Peter Fosl, Dennis Des Chene, Clare Carlisle, Edward Casey
ISBN: 9780739181997
Publisher: Lexington Books
Publication: June 10, 2013
Imprint: Lexington Books
Language: English

From bookshelves overflowing with self-help books to scholarly treatises on neurobiology to late-night infomercials that promise to make you happier, healthier, and smarter with the acquisition of just a few simple practices, the discourse of habit is a staple of contemporary culture high and low. Discussion of habit, however, tends to neglect the most fundamental questions: What is habit? Habits, we say, are hard to break. But what does it mean to break a habit? Where and how do habits take root in us? Do only humans acquire habits? What accounts for the strength or weakness of a habit? Are habits something possessed or something that possesses? We spend a lot of time thinking about our habits, but rarely do we think deeply about the nature of habit itself.

Aristotle and the ancient Greeks recognized the importance of habit for the constitution of character, while readers of David Hume or American pragmatists like C.S. Peirce, William James, and John Dewey know that habit is a central component in the conceptual framework of many key figures in the history of philosophy. Less familiar are the disparate discussions of habit found in the Roman Stoics, Thomas Aquinas, Michel de Montaigne, René Descartes, Gilles Deleuze, French phenomenology, and contemporary Anglo-American philosophies of embodiment, race, and gender, among many others.

The essays gathered in this book demonstrate that the philosophy of habit is not confined to the work of just a handful of thinkers, but traverses the entire history of Western philosophy and continues to thrive in contemporary theory. A History of Habit: From Aristotle to Bourdieu is the first of its kind to document the richness and diversity of this history. It demonstrates the breadth, flexibility, and explanatory power of the concept of habit as well as its enduring significance. It makes the case for habit’s perennial attraction for philosophers, psychologists, and sociologists.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

From bookshelves overflowing with self-help books to scholarly treatises on neurobiology to late-night infomercials that promise to make you happier, healthier, and smarter with the acquisition of just a few simple practices, the discourse of habit is a staple of contemporary culture high and low. Discussion of habit, however, tends to neglect the most fundamental questions: What is habit? Habits, we say, are hard to break. But what does it mean to break a habit? Where and how do habits take root in us? Do only humans acquire habits? What accounts for the strength or weakness of a habit? Are habits something possessed or something that possesses? We spend a lot of time thinking about our habits, but rarely do we think deeply about the nature of habit itself.

Aristotle and the ancient Greeks recognized the importance of habit for the constitution of character, while readers of David Hume or American pragmatists like C.S. Peirce, William James, and John Dewey know that habit is a central component in the conceptual framework of many key figures in the history of philosophy. Less familiar are the disparate discussions of habit found in the Roman Stoics, Thomas Aquinas, Michel de Montaigne, René Descartes, Gilles Deleuze, French phenomenology, and contemporary Anglo-American philosophies of embodiment, race, and gender, among many others.

The essays gathered in this book demonstrate that the philosophy of habit is not confined to the work of just a handful of thinkers, but traverses the entire history of Western philosophy and continues to thrive in contemporary theory. A History of Habit: From Aristotle to Bourdieu is the first of its kind to document the richness and diversity of this history. It demonstrates the breadth, flexibility, and explanatory power of the concept of habit as well as its enduring significance. It makes the case for habit’s perennial attraction for philosophers, psychologists, and sociologists.

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