(Should we get rid of our habits ? - cf infra)
Introduction.
L'habitude a une certaine utilité. Par exemple, lire un livre, comme le choisir dans une librairie et une bibliothèque, suppose un ensemble d'habitude acquises. Elles sont nécessaires pour gagner du temps et atteindre ses objectifs.
Mais on dit aussi des habitudes qu'elles sont routinières, ennuyeuses et mécaniques. Dans ce cas, qu'est-ce qui distingue une mauvaise d'une bonne habitude ? S'il faut se défaire de certaines habitudes, lesquelles doit-on conserver ?
I. Les habitudes sont nécessaires
1. Une notion d'éthique
Le terme "habitude" vient du latin habitudo, signifiant manière d'être, issu de habere, se trouver dans tel état. L'"habitude" est la manière de se tenir, et l'"habitat", de même racine, est le lieu où l'on se tient. "Habitudo" peut se traduire par éthos en grec, qui a donné "éthique". C'est le comportement, la manière de vivre, la façon constante de se comporter et d'agir. L'habitude est une disposition acquise par des activités réitérées et possédant une certaine stabilité (synonyme d'"expérience"). On la retrouve chez l'homme et l'animal.
Chez l'homme, l'habitude désigne le plus souvent les comportements acquis par l'éducation, différents selon la culture (e. g., manger avec une fourchette), et non les comportements innés propres à l'espèce (i. e., les instincts). Mais il y a aussi les habitudes de l'espèce, comme marcher, et celles de l'individu, comme jouer du piano d'une certaine manière.
Habitus, au moyen âge, signifie "disposition", "manière d'être et d'agir", dépendant en grande partie des habitudes acquises (e. g., savoir parler une langue). Selon St Thomas (XIIIe) l'habitus est intermédiaire entre pure puissance et acte pur. C'est une disposition qui permet au sujet de réaliser la fin vers laquelle il tend. Ainsi l'habitude de science, sans être la science même, permet à l'intelligence de connaître, mais elle est davantage que la simple puissance. L'habitus est une disposition permanente qui s'ajoute à la substance de l'homme, la modifie et lui confère une certaine aisance pour agir en vue d'une certaine fin. On considère moralement que l'acte bon est meilleur que la bonne puissance. La disposition à l'amitié ne suffit pas. Elle doit s'exercer en acte. Mais celui qui a l'habitude d'être amical a plus de chance de l'être en acte que celui qui ne l'a pas.
2. L'habitude est-elle corporelle ou spirituelle ?
Aristote considère l'habitude comme spécifique aux êtres vivants et l'oppose à l'inertie des corps bruts. Pour William James (Habitude et mémoire, XIX e), cependant, les lois de la nature sont des habitudes immuables. Les habitudes des atomes, précise-t-il, sont stables, mais celles des corps composés peuvent changer. La plasticité, propre aux corps composés, est le caractère d'une structure assez faible pour céder à une influence et assez forte pour ne pas céder tout d'une pièce. Autrement dit, les lois immuables de la nature physiques sont des habitudes immuables, tandis que dans le monde organiques, les habitudes peuvent évoluer avec le temps.
L'habitude va de l'accoutumance passive (e. g. la drogue) au travail volontaire (la mémoire). Parfois, elle ne va pas sans l'assomption de la répétition par le sujet lui-même (par exemple, on peut se lever tôt le matin tous les jours pendant des années pour aller à son travail sans jamais s'y habituer). Un caractère est une volonté complètement façonnée et soutenue par l'habitude (J. S. Mill). Le tempérament est lui une disposition innée. Ravaison reconnait dans l'habitude le point de jonction de l'esprit et du corps, une pensée sans volonté ni même conscience distincte, en même temps que le moyen grâce auquel la liberté s'extrait de la nature - une thèse diamétralement opposée à celle de l'empirisme, selon laquelle l'habitude est un savoir faire résultant d'une expérience aveugle. Pour Hume, par exemple, les relations entres idées viennent de l'habitude. C'est par habitude que je sais que le soleil se lèvera demain. Le principe de l'association mentale suppose que ce qui a été répété est conçu comme devant se répéter (principe d'induction, de généralisation).
La mémoire habitude corporelle consiste pour Bergson à réciter un poème ou faire ses lacets mécaniquement et la mémoire souvenir spirituelle à se rappeler un moment, une scène de sa vie (Bergson, Matière et mémoire). Maine de Biran appelle habitude active celles qui, par opposition aux habitudes passives des sensations correspondant à une diminution de la conscience, sont les habitudes des opérations.
Chez Merleau-Ponty, la perception, comme le geste, fait exister le monde, non comme totalité des choses existantes, mais comme horizon de ce qui est donné à faire : "Le terrain de football n'est pas pour le joueur en action un "objet" (...). Le terrain ne lui est pas donné, mais présent comme le terme immanent de ses intentions pratiques ; le joueur fait corps avec lui et sent par exemple la direction du but aussi immédiatement que la verticale et l'horizontale de son corps" (La structure du comportement). Le monde des habitudes est un monde de choses à faire et non à voir.
3. Les avantages de l'habitude.
Un vêtement est plus adapté une fois porté, une serrure joue mieux après avoir servi, le son de l'instrument s'améliore quand il a été joué, etc. (cf. James, Habitude et mémoire). L'habitude permet donc l'adaptation.
L'habitude rend aussi les choses plus faciles. Il simplifie les mouvement en les rendant plus précis et diminuant la fatigue. Le débutant au piano meut d'abord son corps entier et se fatigue rapidement. Peu à peu, il apprend à ne mouvoir que ses doigts.
L'habitude libère aussi l'attention de la conscience. Un agent s'ajuste à des situations avec les ressources d'un apprentissage permettant de s'épargner un travail constant de calcul et de réflexion. Lorsque l'on se prépare à se coucher, le premier geste entraîne les autres. On n'a pas besoin de réfléchir à chaque geste que l'on fait. L'habitude se substitue à la volonté pour la libérer. Elle permet alors de faire plusieurs choses en même temps (e. g., conduire en parlant).
La volonté constante peut engendrer souci et inquiétude, si l'on songe en permanence au but à atteindre. Se reposer sur l'habitude sans plus se soucier des fins est anxiolytique. "Un jeune homme, écrit James, ne doit jamais s'inquiéter du résultat final de son éducation, qu'elle qu'en soit l'orientation, s'il est fidèle à occuper tous les instants de ses jours de travail, il n'a qu'à attendre tranquillement le succès" (Habitude et mémoire).
II. La prison des habitudes.
1. La mécanisation de la vie. Les habitudes, nous l'avons vu, sont nécessaires. Elles permettent une régularité et une stabilité du monde et des actions. On suit une route toute tracée, d'où le mot routine. Toutefois, l'excès de régularité entraîne une vie mécanique. "Les habitudes", au pluriel, signifie la routine qui est l'appellation péjorative de l'habitude. Elle est répétitive et sans invention. Elle nie notre part spirituelle. Le confort apporté par l'habitude fait de nous des êtres serviles et peu inventifs.
Les hommes qui ont vieilli en prison demandent à y retourner, affirme James (e. g., Le film Les Evades de Franck Darabont, 1994). Un tigre dont la cage est brisé peut y retourner. L'habitude est un agent de conservation de la société. Nous pouvons avoir du mal à quitter nos habitudes. On peut préférer le confort de la routine aux risques que suppose la liberté.
2. L'abitus en sociologie
En sociologie, l'habitus est un système de dispositions durables acquis par l'individu dans sa socialisation. Chez Spengler, l'habitus renvoie au style de vie et d'expérience qui spécifie la culture et se traduit par des homologies entre ses différents domaines. Emprunté à Mauss par Bourdieu, l'habitus désigne l'ensemble des dispositions intériorisées inconscientes et durables, de schèmes qui orientent la perception, les appréciations et actions des individus. Elle marque l'institution du social dans le corps.
Le "désajustement" rend manifeste l'habitus, comme chez les ruraux algériens des années soixante arrachés à leur milieu et étudiés par Bourdieu (Le déracinement). On peut reprocher parfois à nos habitudes de nous empêcher d'évoluer. Mais il faut aussi respecter les habitudes des peuples. Sans quoi on détruit ces peuples eux-mêmes, comme avec les modifications apportées au coutumes de nombreux pays par le tourisme de masse.
L'habitus concerne le plan cognitif autant que pratique. Nos habitudes d'agir et de penser sont conditionnées par l'habitude. Les classement opérés par un agent (pratique cognitive) sont conditionnées par la position occupée dans l'espace social (classe, statut). Changer de statut conduit bien souvent à réviser son opinion. Par exemple, en vieillissant, on devient souvent plus intégré à la société, moins révolté et plus conservateur.
3. L'accident.
L'événement est ce qui advient, ce qui arrive d'inhabituel, ce qui dans le temps individuel ou collectif rompt la trame des faits habituels et marque la représentation. Un événement fait date. On s'en souvient (mémoire souvenir) alors qu'on oubli ce qui a lieu chaque jour (mémoire habitude). L'événement est situé dans l'instant ou la courte durée. Un événement est dit historique s'il est remarquable à la fois par sa nouveauté et par son importance. L'événement a un poids symbolique que le fait n'aura pas. Ce sont les événements que l'on commémore pas les faits. Le fait que l'eau bout à 100 degré n'est pas un événement. Les anniversaires et les commémorations sont des rites personnels destinés à réinscrire l'événement dans le présent. En histoire, l'événement s'oppose à la structure, il est conjoncturel et marque la naissance d'une nouvelle époque. L'événement est un avènement (cf. C. Godin, Dictionnaire de philosophie). Il constitue une sorte de révolution. Une révolution symbolique en musique, peinture, en littérature, en philosophie, en physique, en politique ou en moral consiste en une rupture avec un état des systèmes de classement.
L'étonnement (de extonare, frappé par la foudre) est une commotion violente et soudaine, comme un coup de tonnerre. C'est aussi un surprise causée par une singularité et débouchant sur un travail de réflexion. L'étonnement est un événement psychique. Mais on ne s'étonne pas de tout tout le temps. Le manque d'étonnement peut être signe d'ignorance (les animaux ne s'étonne de rien) mais aussi de connaissance (dieu non plus). Socrate faisait de l'étonnement l'origine de la philosophie en remettant en cause l'évidence. Mais Aristote et Spinoza remarquent que l'admiration est vulgaire et que le sage transforme l'admiration en contemplation intellectuelle (cf. C. Godin, Dictionnaire de philosophie).
III. Conclusion.
Nous avons vu que sans habitudes, il n'y avait pas d'ordre et de stabilité. Les habitudes se trouvent aux niveaux physiques, physiologiques et psychiques. Elles permettent de déléguer au corps des tâches de l'esprit pour libérer ce dernier. Cependant les habitudes ne doivent pas prendre toute la place, au risque de nous transformer en machines.
Sur le plan social comme individuel, il faut savoir faire évoluer les habitudes sans les briser trop brutalement. Il faut savoir changer les habitudes et non les détruire. Sevrer un agent dépendant de quelque chose c'est modifier son habitude. Pour acquérir une nouvelle habitude, il faut se jeter à l'eau, souvent de manière désagréable. Les succès du début sont importants pour nous encourager à changer. Car il faut reconnaître que le changement suppose toujours une certaine violence (que l'on pense au travail du deuil). Il faut rompre les habitudes pour se régénérer (ce que permettent les vacances). Mais vivre sans habitudes serait épuisants. Toute notre énergie serait destinée à réapprendre en permanence. Il faut donc faire évoluer l'habitude dans le sens du meilleur pour nous. Le problème alors est de déterminer ce qui est meilleur. Peut-on le faire au delà de ce que nous avons l'habitude de considérer comme meilleur ?
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Should we get rid of our habits?
Introduction
The habit is of some use. For example, reading a book, such as choosing a bookstore and a library, suppose a set of habits. They are necessary to save time and achieve its objectives.
But we also say that habits are routine, boring and mechanical. In this case, what distinguishes a good and a bad habit? If we get rid of certain habits, why should we keep some ?
I. Habits are necessary
1. A notion of ethics
The term "habit" comes from the Latin habitudo, meaning way of life, resulting from habere, to be in this state. The "habit" is how to stand, and "habitat", the same root, is the place where one stands. "Habitudo" can result in the Greek ethos, which gave "ethical". That is behavior, way of life, the consistently behave and act. Habit is a disposition acquired through repeated activities and possessing a degree of stability (synonymous with "experience"). It is found in humans and animals.
In men, "habits" often means learned behaviors through education, differentiated by culture (eg, eating with a fork), and not innate behaviors specific to the species (ie, instincts). But there are habits of the species, such as walking ; and those of the individual, like playing the piano in a certain way.
Habitus in the middle ages, means "aptitude", "way of being and acting", depending largely on the habits (eg, able to speak a language). According to St Thomas (XIII) habitus is intermediate between pure power and pure act. This is a provision that allows the subject to achieve the end toward which it tends. The habit of science, but not science itself, allows the intelligence to know, but it is more than just power. The habitus is a permanent arrangement in addition to the substance of man, that changes it and gives it some ease to act for a certain purpose. We morally consider that the good act is better than good power. Available to the friendship is not enough. It must be exercised in action. But the one that used to be friendly is more likely to be friendly in action as the one who did not.
2. Is the habit physical or spiritual?
Aristotle considers habit as specific to living beings and oppose it to the inertia of inorganic bodies. To William James (Habit and Memory, XIX), however, the laws of nature are unchanging habits. Habits of atoms, he says, are stable, but these of compounds bodies can change. Plasticity, specific to compounds bodies, is the character of a structure weak enough to give way to an influence and strong enough not to give in one piece. In other words, the immutable laws of physical nature are unchanging habits, while in the organic world body, habits can change over time.
The habit of addiction could be passive (eg drugs) or voluntary work (memory). Sometimes it is not without the assumption of repetition by the subject himself (for example, one can be up early every day for years to go to work and never get used). A character is a will completely shaped and sustained by habit (JS Mill), whereas temperament is an innate disposition to him.
Ravaison recognized in the habit the junction of the mind and body, a thought without will nor distinct consciousness, and the means by which freedom is extracted from nature - a theory diametrically opposed to that of empiricism, that habit is a know-how resulting from a blind experience. For Hume, for example, the relationships between ideas come from habits. It is by habit that I know the sun will rise tomorrow. The principle of mental association implies that what was repeated is designed as to be repeated (the principle of induction, generalization).
Physical memory habit is used for Bergson to recite a poem or tying shoelaces mechanicaly and spiritual memory habit to remember a spiritual moment, a scene of our life (Bergson, Matter and Memory). Maine de Biran calls usually active ones, as opposed to passive habits of sensations corresponding to a decrease in consciousness, are the patterns of operations.
For Merleau-Ponty, perception, such as gesture, brings into existence the world, not as a totality of existing things, but as the horizon of what is given to do "The football field is not for a player in action an "object" (...). The land he is not given, but present as the immanent term of his practical intentions, the player becomes one with him and feels the direction of such order as immediately as the vertical and the horizontal body "(The Structure of Behavior). The world of habits is a world of things to do and not to see.
3. The advantages of habit.
A clothe is more suitable when worn, a lock plays better after being used, the sound of the instrument improves when it was played, etc.. (Cf. James, and habit memory). The practice makes possible adaptation.
The habit also makes things easier. It simplifies the movement by making them more accurate and reducing fatigue. The beginner piano moves first his whole body and gets tired quickly. Gradually, he learns to move only his fingers.
The practice also frees the attention of consciousness. An agent adjusts to situations with the resources of learning to avoid a constant work of load and reflection. When getting ready for bed, the first thing leads to another. We do not need to think about every move we make. The habit replaces the will to release it. It then allows to do several things at once (eg, driving and speaking).
The constant desire can cause worry and anxiety, when one constantly considers the ongoing goal. Relying on the habit without worrying about the purpose is anxiolytic. "A young man, James wrote, should never worry about the final result of his education, whatever the direction, if he occupies every moment of his life with work, he just have to wait quietly successful "(Habit memory).
II. Prison of habits.
1. The mechanization of life. Habits, we have seen, are necessary. They provide a consistency and stability of the world and actions. We follow a route mapped out, hence the word "routine". However, excessive regularity leads to mechanical life. "Habits" in the plural, means the routine that is the term used pejoratively. It is repetitive and without invention. It denies our spiritual part. The comfort provided by the habit makes us servile and unimaginative.
Men who have grown old in prison ask to return, says James (eg, the film Escape from Frank Darabont, 1994). A tiger, whose cage is broken can return inside. Habit is a preservative of society. We may hardly leave our habits. One may prefer the comfort of the routine rather assumes the risks of freedom.
2. Habitus in sociology
In sociology, the habitus is a system of durable dispositions acquired by the individual in his socialization. For Spengler, habitus refers to the lifestyle and experience that specifies the culture and results of homology between its different areas. Borrowed by Bourdieu from Mauss, habitus refers to all the unconscious provisions internalized and sustainable, patterns of perception that shape the judgments and actions of individuals. It marks the institution of the social in body.
The "maladjustment" makes manifest the habitus, as in the rural Algerian in the sixties torn from their midst and studied by Bourdieu (uprooting). We can blame sometime our habits for prevent us from evolving. But we must also respect the habits of the people. Otherwise we destroy these peoples themselves, as with the changes to the customs of many countries by mass tourism.
Habitus concern the cognitive area as well as practice. Our ways of acting and thinking are conditioned by habit. The classification made by an agent (cognitive practice) are conditioned by the position occupied in social space (class, status). Change status often leads to revise his opinion. For example, with age, one often becomes more integrated into society, less rebellious and more conservative.
3. The accident.
The event is what happens of the ordinary, which in individual or collective time breaks the the usual frame of the facts and hit the representation. We recall the event (memory recall) when we forget what happens every day (usually memory). The event is set in the time or short-lived. An event is called history if it is remarkable both for its novelty and its importance. The event has a symbolic weight that the fact has not. These are the events we commemorate not the facts. The fact that water boils at 100 degrees is not an event. Birthdays and anniversaries are personal rites to the re-register event in the present. In history, the event is poosed to the structure, it is temporary and marks the birth of a new era. The event is an introduction (cf. C. Godin, Dictionary of Philosophy). It is a kind of revolution. A symbolic revolution in music, painting, literature, philosophy, physics, political or moral is a departure from a state rating systems.
The astonishement (to extonare, struck by lightning) is a violent and sudden shock, like a thunderclap. It is also a surprise caused by a singularity, leading to a process of reflection. Astonishement is a psychic event. But one is not surprised all the time. The lack of surprise can be a sign of ignorance (the animals are not surprised) but also of knowledge (neither god). Socrates considered astonishment as the origin of philosophy by challenging obvious. But Aristotle and Spinoza note that the admiration is vulgar and the wise man turns admiration into intellectual contemplation (cf. C. Godin, Dictionary of Philosophy).
III. Conclusion.
We have seen that without habits, there was no order and stability. Habits are at physical, physiological and psychological levels. They allow the body to delegate the tasks of the mind to free it. However, the habits should not take all the space at the risk of turning us into machines.
On social as an individual level, we must know how to change habits without breaking too abruptly. We must know how to change habits and not destroy them. Wean a dependent agent is changing his habits. To acquire a new habit, we have to jump into the water, often withpout pleasure. The initial success are important to encourage us to change. For we must recognize that change always involves some violence (one thinks the work of mourning). We must break the habits to regenerate (which allow the holidays). But to live without habits would be exhausting. All our energy would be destined to relearn all the time. It is therefore necessary to change the habit in the direction of the best for us. The problem then is to determine what is best. Can we do beyond what we normally and usally consider as best?
Crédit photo : http://artofmanliness.com/2010/09/07/3-archetypes-of-american-manliness-part-ii-the-heroic-artisan/
*
Should we get rid of our habits?
Introduction
The habit is of some use. For example, reading a book, such as choosing a bookstore and a library, suppose a set of habits. They are necessary to save time and achieve its objectives.
But we also say that habits are routine, boring and mechanical. In this case, what distinguishes a good and a bad habit? If we get rid of certain habits, why should we keep some ?
I. Habits are necessary
1. A notion of ethics
The term "habit" comes from the Latin habitudo, meaning way of life, resulting from habere, to be in this state. The "habit" is how to stand, and "habitat", the same root, is the place where one stands. "Habitudo" can result in the Greek ethos, which gave "ethical". That is behavior, way of life, the consistently behave and act. Habit is a disposition acquired through repeated activities and possessing a degree of stability (synonymous with "experience"). It is found in humans and animals.
In men, "habits" often means learned behaviors through education, differentiated by culture (eg, eating with a fork), and not innate behaviors specific to the species (ie, instincts). But there are habits of the species, such as walking ; and those of the individual, like playing the piano in a certain way.
Habitus in the middle ages, means "aptitude", "way of being and acting", depending largely on the habits (eg, able to speak a language). According to St Thomas (XIII) habitus is intermediate between pure power and pure act. This is a provision that allows the subject to achieve the end toward which it tends. The habit of science, but not science itself, allows the intelligence to know, but it is more than just power. The habitus is a permanent arrangement in addition to the substance of man, that changes it and gives it some ease to act for a certain purpose. We morally consider that the good act is better than good power. Available to the friendship is not enough. It must be exercised in action. But the one that used to be friendly is more likely to be friendly in action as the one who did not.
2. Is the habit physical or spiritual?
Aristotle considers habit as specific to living beings and oppose it to the inertia of inorganic bodies. To William James (Habit and Memory, XIX), however, the laws of nature are unchanging habits. Habits of atoms, he says, are stable, but these of compounds bodies can change. Plasticity, specific to compounds bodies, is the character of a structure weak enough to give way to an influence and strong enough not to give in one piece. In other words, the immutable laws of physical nature are unchanging habits, while in the organic world body, habits can change over time.
The habit of addiction could be passive (eg drugs) or voluntary work (memory). Sometimes it is not without the assumption of repetition by the subject himself (for example, one can be up early every day for years to go to work and never get used). A character is a will completely shaped and sustained by habit (JS Mill), whereas temperament is an innate disposition to him.
Ravaison recognized in the habit the junction of the mind and body, a thought without will nor distinct consciousness, and the means by which freedom is extracted from nature - a theory diametrically opposed to that of empiricism, that habit is a know-how resulting from a blind experience. For Hume, for example, the relationships between ideas come from habits. It is by habit that I know the sun will rise tomorrow. The principle of mental association implies that what was repeated is designed as to be repeated (the principle of induction, generalization).
Physical memory habit is used for Bergson to recite a poem or tying shoelaces mechanicaly and spiritual memory habit to remember a spiritual moment, a scene of our life (Bergson, Matter and Memory). Maine de Biran calls usually active ones, as opposed to passive habits of sensations corresponding to a decrease in consciousness, are the patterns of operations.
For Merleau-Ponty, perception, such as gesture, brings into existence the world, not as a totality of existing things, but as the horizon of what is given to do "The football field is not for a player in action an "object" (...). The land he is not given, but present as the immanent term of his practical intentions, the player becomes one with him and feels the direction of such order as immediately as the vertical and the horizontal body "(The Structure of Behavior). The world of habits is a world of things to do and not to see.
3. The advantages of habit.
A clothe is more suitable when worn, a lock plays better after being used, the sound of the instrument improves when it was played, etc.. (Cf. James, and habit memory). The practice makes possible adaptation.
The habit also makes things easier. It simplifies the movement by making them more accurate and reducing fatigue. The beginner piano moves first his whole body and gets tired quickly. Gradually, he learns to move only his fingers.
The practice also frees the attention of consciousness. An agent adjusts to situations with the resources of learning to avoid a constant work of load and reflection. When getting ready for bed, the first thing leads to another. We do not need to think about every move we make. The habit replaces the will to release it. It then allows to do several things at once (eg, driving and speaking).
The constant desire can cause worry and anxiety, when one constantly considers the ongoing goal. Relying on the habit without worrying about the purpose is anxiolytic. "A young man, James wrote, should never worry about the final result of his education, whatever the direction, if he occupies every moment of his life with work, he just have to wait quietly successful "(Habit memory).
II. Prison of habits.
1. The mechanization of life. Habits, we have seen, are necessary. They provide a consistency and stability of the world and actions. We follow a route mapped out, hence the word "routine". However, excessive regularity leads to mechanical life. "Habits" in the plural, means the routine that is the term used pejoratively. It is repetitive and without invention. It denies our spiritual part. The comfort provided by the habit makes us servile and unimaginative.
Men who have grown old in prison ask to return, says James (eg, the film Escape from Frank Darabont, 1994). A tiger, whose cage is broken can return inside. Habit is a preservative of society. We may hardly leave our habits. One may prefer the comfort of the routine rather assumes the risks of freedom.
2. Habitus in sociology
In sociology, the habitus is a system of durable dispositions acquired by the individual in his socialization. For Spengler, habitus refers to the lifestyle and experience that specifies the culture and results of homology between its different areas. Borrowed by Bourdieu from Mauss, habitus refers to all the unconscious provisions internalized and sustainable, patterns of perception that shape the judgments and actions of individuals. It marks the institution of the social in body.
The "maladjustment" makes manifest the habitus, as in the rural Algerian in the sixties torn from their midst and studied by Bourdieu (uprooting). We can blame sometime our habits for prevent us from evolving. But we must also respect the habits of the people. Otherwise we destroy these peoples themselves, as with the changes to the customs of many countries by mass tourism.
Habitus concern the cognitive area as well as practice. Our ways of acting and thinking are conditioned by habit. The classification made by an agent (cognitive practice) are conditioned by the position occupied in social space (class, status). Change status often leads to revise his opinion. For example, with age, one often becomes more integrated into society, less rebellious and more conservative.
3. The accident.
The event is what happens of the ordinary, which in individual or collective time breaks the the usual frame of the facts and hit the representation. We recall the event (memory recall) when we forget what happens every day (usually memory). The event is set in the time or short-lived. An event is called history if it is remarkable both for its novelty and its importance. The event has a symbolic weight that the fact has not. These are the events we commemorate not the facts. The fact that water boils at 100 degrees is not an event. Birthdays and anniversaries are personal rites to the re-register event in the present. In history, the event is poosed to the structure, it is temporary and marks the birth of a new era. The event is an introduction (cf. C. Godin, Dictionary of Philosophy). It is a kind of revolution. A symbolic revolution in music, painting, literature, philosophy, physics, political or moral is a departure from a state rating systems.
The astonishement (to extonare, struck by lightning) is a violent and sudden shock, like a thunderclap. It is also a surprise caused by a singularity, leading to a process of reflection. Astonishement is a psychic event. But one is not surprised all the time. The lack of surprise can be a sign of ignorance (the animals are not surprised) but also of knowledge (neither god). Socrates considered astonishment as the origin of philosophy by challenging obvious. But Aristotle and Spinoza note that the admiration is vulgar and the wise man turns admiration into intellectual contemplation (cf. C. Godin, Dictionary of Philosophy).
III. Conclusion.
We have seen that without habits, there was no order and stability. Habits are at physical, physiological and psychological levels. They allow the body to delegate the tasks of the mind to free it. However, the habits should not take all the space at the risk of turning us into machines.
On social as an individual level, we must know how to change habits without breaking too abruptly. We must know how to change habits and not destroy them. Wean a dependent agent is changing his habits. To acquire a new habit, we have to jump into the water, often withpout pleasure. The initial success are important to encourage us to change. For we must recognize that change always involves some violence (one thinks the work of mourning). We must break the habits to regenerate (which allow the holidays). But to live without habits would be exhausting. All our energy would be destined to relearn all the time. It is therefore necessary to change the habit in the direction of the best for us. The problem then is to determine what is best. Can we do beyond what we normally and usally consider as best?
Crédit photo : http://artofmanliness.com/2010/09/07/3-archetypes-of-american-manliness-part-ii-the-heroic-artisan/
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