Episode 26 Bodies and selves and structures, oh my!

In this episode I explore the relationship between these sets of concepts: bodies/selves, bodies/souls, selves/individuals, individuals/society. Do we need to understand the self as separate from society – as autonomous – in order to be imagine social change? I review the work of two different theorists’ perspectives on these concepts: Michel Foucault and Pierre Bourdieu.

Often the individual is seen as a David figure in relation to the Goliath of society. What if instead we saw society as itself a character in the drama, a character who wants to be transformed? I put forward a new myth of the relationship between the individual and society, where society wants to transform itself, and it sees possibilities for doing so by becoming embodied.