Rethinking Politeness with Henri Bergson

Erscheinungsjahr 2022
ISBN: 978-0-19-763786-9
Verlag: Oxford University Press

Buch, Englisch, 192 Seiten, Format (B × H): 150 mm x 226 mm, Gewicht: 272 g

Reihe: Oxford Studies in the Anthropology of Language

In 1885, Henri Bergson addressed a class of French high school students on the subject of politeness. Bergson would go on to become one of the most influential philosophers of his time, yet although this essay set forth a striking theory of politeness and foreshadowed aspects of his later work, it remains remarkably little-known. Rethinking Politeness with Henri Bergson offers the first English translation of Discours sur la Politesse, and brings
together leading linguistic anthropologists to critically engage with and expand on Bergson's ideas.

At the core of Bergson's essay is a tripartite classification of politeness acts into politesse des manières ("politeness of manners"), politesse de l'esprit ("politeness of mind/spirit"), and politesse du coeur ("politeness of the heart"). Presented along a hierarchy of intersubjective attunement and ethical aspirations, Bergson's three types call for the progressive abandonment of habits when they get in the way of our ability to help others. They can also be read as an invitation to
consider politeness as a dimension of human sociability that is relevant to social theory. Collectively, the essays in this volume untangle the ideological, socio-historical, and material conditions that shape notions of the ideal social agent, and propose a rethinking of politeness that serves as a bridge
to larger issues of civility, citizenship, and democracy.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Duranti, Alessandro

Fachgebiete

• Sozialwissenschaften Politikwissenschaft Politische Systeme Vergleichende Politikwissenschaft
• Sozialwissenschaften Soziologie | Soziale Arbeit Soziale Gruppen/Soziale Themen Sozialisation, Soziale Interaktion, Sozialer Wandel
• Geisteswissenschaften Philosophie Ethik, Moralphilosophie
• Geisteswissenschaften Sprachwissenschaft Sprachwissenschaften Sprachphilosophie
• Geisteswissenschaften Philosophie Sprachphilosophie

Über Autor(innen)

Alessandro Duranti is Distinguished Professor of Anthropology at UCLA. His books include From Grammar to Politics: Linguistic Anthropology in a Western Samoan Village (1994), the textbook Linguistic Anthropology (1997), The Anthropology of Intentions: Language in a World of Others (2015), and a number of edited volumes. He is a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the recipient of the John Simon
Guggenheim Fellowship, the UCLA Alumni Distinguished Teaching Award, and the American Anthropological Association/Mayfield Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching.