문명화이론의 ‘몸’ 개념과 그 교육학적 함의

Abstract

This study aims to firstly examine the idea of the body of the civilizing theory Norbert Elias's and then try out its educational implications and limitations. More particularly, the main purposes of this study are to discuss whether body would be an alternative concept for the reason on which the modern education has based, and which theoretical premises will be satisfied for that. The thought to found human thoughts and actions on the self-determined autonomy of the reason has been confronted by radical criticism in the recent discussions. The subject of education is facing serious crisis with the announcement of the 'death of subject', and it necessarily comes to the discussion about the end of education. As a result of a series of discussions, man keeps an eye on the idea of body, recognizing that a alternative concept for educational thinking and a new analytic category will be needed. Through researches into body and bodily motion, it is said that the evolutionary process from animals to human being can be explained, that light thrown upon the problems between the reason and the desires, between institutions and nature, and that evidences of historical and cultural development of human beings could be found. Elias tries to rehabilitate the concept 'body' in his civilizing theory that has been out of favour in the western tradition of the social science, demonstrating with empirical materials that the civilizing process is thoroughly carried through human body. He puts the civilizing process into words in a formula "distancing from body". But he takes an attitude of indifference and incomprehension about autonomy and personality that is the last ground of educational understanding of man. He is not interested in individual interests and intentions, but interested which social relations and motions are produced from their sum. Individual intention and thinking merely rely upon the structure of the mutual relationship of human beings, and the network of social connections itself implies a inner oder of the civilizing process. For Elias, individuals are not the subject of self-behavior. It seems that there is no room for the educational point of view into the autonomous thinking and action in his theoretical idea. It is indispensible for the educational theory and practice to restore the human autonomy. For being a autonomous being it is in a position not only to form itself under influence of its natural and social surroundings, but to change the environments for its sake. Attention is now paid not more the reason which is said to constitute the subject, however, but body as the subject which produces and appropriates the world. The discussion on the concept of body of the civilizing theory Norbert Elias's and its educational implications suggests to us to accept the idea 'body' as an entire outlook for the human understanding and to sow a new possibility for the education theory formation on it, contrasting Elias's 'sociological action' with 'pedagogic action' and his 'social formation of body' with 'cultural formation of body'.