Durkheim, Mauss e a atualidade da escola sociológica francesa

Abstract

ResumoA escola sociológica francesa tem importância amplamente reconhecida para o desenvolvimento da sociologia acadêmica e contemporânea, o que se deve às contribuições de E. Durkheim e M. Mauss em primeiro lugar, mas igualmente a autores como C. Lévi-Strauss, G. Gurvitch, P. Bourdieu, A. Caillé entre outros. Porém, há um dado curioso: apesar de sua fama, desconhecem-se as características próprias da escola sociológica francesa no universo da teoria sociológica contemporânea. Por desconhecerem suas características alguns autores buscam enquadrar a sociologia francesa dentro do paradigma dualista agência x estrutura, de origem anglo-saxônico. Ora, tal identificação é um erro epistemológico e impede entender que a sociologia francesa parte de outro paradigma: a lógica "efervescente" durkheimiana de diferenciação social que se desenvolve pela sistematização das noções de representação, simbolismo e totalidade social. Uma chave importante para o desvendamento da escola francesa, sobretudo de sua atualização teórica no contexto de individualização social que presenciamos na experiência das modernidades, é a sistematização por Mauss dos estudos sobre o dom, da regra tripartite do dar, receber e retribuir. Palavras-chave: Sociologia-França. Diferenciação Social. Dádiva. Sociologias, Porto Alegre, ano 15, n o 34, set./dez. 2013, p. 186-218 SOCIOLOGIAS 187A Durkheim, Mauss and the current French sociological thought AbstractThe importance of French sociological thought for the development of contemporary academic sociology is widely recognized, especially for the contributions of E. Durkheim and M. Mauss, but also of authors as C. Lévi-Strauss, G. Gurvitch, P. Bourdieu, A. Caillé, among others. There is, however, an interesting fact: in spite of its prestige, the particular characteristics of the French sociology are unknown in the world of contemporary sociological theory. And, for being unaware of its characteristics, some authors try to define the French sociology within the British dualistic paradigm agency versus structure. Now, such demarcation constitutes an epistemological mistake that prevents the understanding that French sociology draws on another paradigm: the "effervescent" Durkheimian logic of social differentiation that is developed through the systematization of the notions of representation, symbolism and social totality. An important key for disclosing the French sociological thought, particularly its new theoretical formulation in the context of social individualization observed in modernity, is Mauss' systematization of studies on the gift, of the three obligations: to give, to receive and to reciprocate.

A Fondrakö text: Cultural religious tradition and social integration of community

“…Will fondrakö become only a cultural heritage and has it been replaced with the values of modernity? Nielsen (2003) that relied on the thinking of Durkheim (1995) and Martins & Guerra (2013) formulated an argument to answer those questions. The past community rites could experience a number of form changes in the modern religious practice through a rite proliferation.…”

The ambivalent nature of biodiversity: Scientists' perspectives on the Norwegian Nature Index

“…In the French speaking world, on the other hand, there seems to be a stronger continuity and consistency in the use of the notion of representation, running from Durkheim to Mauss, Lévi-Strauss, Foucault, and Bourdieu, to mention a few (see Martins and Guerra, 2013). Even Latour has devoted a great deal of attention to the concept, charging it with responsibility for the flaws of contemporary sociology (1999: 6-7).…”

“…Blumer, 1969; are difficult to grasp (although both terms are used in both traditions). In the English speaking world, the differences are typically apprehended within the agent-structure dichotomy (Martins and Guerra, 2013); a recurrent objection against, for example, Durkheim and Bourdieu, is that there is not enough room for agency in a social world where structure determines thought and action (see Peters, 2013). Set aside the fact that the two traditions try to explain different things, with symbolic interactionists emphasizing how agents interact to create symbolic worlds, and the French "representationists" focusing on how symbolic structures determine interaction (Myles, 2010: Chapter 3): Such criticisms overlook important differences regarding what structure is and the role of representation.…”