Under protection of the unconsciousness. Approaches to a psychological foundation of the habitus concept in the works of Pierre Bourdieu

Abstract

The article discusses Pierre Bourdieu’s habitus theory and contributes to overcome a twofold gap in contemporary reception of Bourdieu: First, Bourdieu’s approach – specifically the concepts of class, »sorts of capital«, »social field« and »habitus« – needs to be introduced to make it accessible for a psychological discussion. Second, in regard to sociology the transdisciplinary of the habitus concept needs to be emphasized. It cannot be founded convincingly without considering psychological contributions. Bourdieu himself calls his research a »psychoanalysis of the social«. Accordingly, references to Freudian theory and to results of experimental psychology can be found in his works.