The Concept of “Development” in Norbert Elias

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Other Title
  • ノルベルト・エリアスにおける〈発展〉の概念
  • ノルベルト・エリアスにおける<発展>の概念--認識論的な問題構制をめぐる二重性
  • ノルベルト エリアス ニ オケル ハッテン ノ ガイネン ニンシキロンテキ ナ モンダイコウセイ オ メグル ニジュウセイ
  • 認識論的な問題構制をめぐる二重性
  • On the Two Aspects of Epistemological Framework

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Abstract

This article deals with the concept of "development" in Norbert Elias' sociological thought. Elias claims that his sociological approach is both "figurational" and "developmental", but most critiques of his approach focus mainly on the former and do not give much attention on the latter. It seems no wonder that the concept of "development" is pushed to the back ground, when we know that the concept has associations with nineteenth-century evolutionism and belief in progress. However, we realize we cannot dismiss the importance of the concept when we notice the fact that Elias attempted many times to refine the concept of "development" so that it could be regarded as scientific. What makes us curious then is that although he tried so hard to refine the concept, he could never give a satisfactory definition to it. Then why did he try so hard to keep the concept? And why couldn't he finally give a satisfactory definition to it?<br>　To answer these questions, I examine both Elias' explanation of the concept in his theoretical discussions and his description of historical processes in his "theoretical-empirical" works such as The Civilizing Process, and conclude that there are two different epistemological positions on which he stands when he talks of "development". Elias always took an empirical point of view and could never get out of this epistemological horizon when he tried to explain the concept. But on the other hand, he already got out of the empiricism and reached a new epistemological horizon when he practiced the description of historical processes. The new epistemological horizon is found to be the same as the one to which Michel Foucault's genealogy belongs, a totally new approach on history compared with the usual approach called empiricism = historicism.

Journal

  • SOSHIOROJI

    SOSHIOROJI 45 (3), 3-18,154, 2001

    SHAKAIGAKU KENKYUKAI

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