Teorie kuchenne. Dialektyka przyzwyczajeń i refleksyjności w koncepcji Jeana-Claude’a Kaufmanna

Abstract

A strong bias is observed in the popular sociological explanations toward those notions of human action which emphasize its rational nature, grounded on the assumption that any given action is an effect of the aims, values or attitudes of an actor. Such a point of view corresponds well with simple social surveys but fails to explain and describe inconsistencies in our thinking and acting, as well as those human activities which rest heavily on the “practical consciousness”, anchored in habits and material environment. Although there are some sociological approaches suited to explain these everyday practices, e.g. Merleau-Ponty’s phenomenology or Bourdieu’s idea of sense of practice, they are hardly used in empirical sociology. Drawing on Swidler’s notion of culture as a tool-kit, Giza-Poleszczuk’s and Marody’s model of social bond changes and, above all, on Jean-Claude Kaufmann’s theory, the paper aims at overcoming this stalemate. Kaufmann’s idea of habits and their dialectical relation with reflexivity is an attempt to create not only a multifaceted sociological theory of action but also empirical tools and guidelines designed to investigate the mundane interactions which have been already tested in several Kaufmann’s studies. Drawing on these empirical examples (mainly studies concerning housework and intimate relationships) Kaufmann’s main theoretical assumptions are described and discussed, as well as some aspects of their affinity with some other sociological theories (e.g. Berger’s and Luckmann’s notion of routine and habit, Bourdieu’s notion of habitus, American pragmatism and sociology of Bruno Latour).