ABSTRACT
This chapter compares Bourdieu’s theory of the body and embodiment with interpretations of the body from other theorists and other theoretical perspectives, particularly those that draw on modern epistemological thinking. In Bourdieu’s theory of practice, it is possible to make two different interpretative readings of habitus. The first is considered to be a sociological reading in which Bourdieu emphasizes the relationship between the ‘body and society’. In this reading emphasis is placed on embodiment of knowledge rather than the body as knowledge in itself. In this chapter, it is expressed as the ‘body and society approach’. A second reading of Bourdieu’s notion of habitus is one that recognizes the body (or body-hexis) from an epistemological stance. In this sense the body is read as being a form of knowledge in itself and is expressed here as the ‘body as knowledge approach’. This approach originates from a reading of Bourdieu’s work that aligns with modern epistemological developments that consider the nature of knowledge. In this reading, I draw on the work of Merleau-Ponty and Polanyi to exemplify an epistemology of the body. It aims to circumvent the individual/society dualism that concerns sociologists. The epistemological linking of the body and knowledge provides an opportunity to contribute to modern developments in epistemology, and promote Bourdieu’s ideas more widely.
