Norbert Elias

The idea behind Elias’s key concept of “the civilizing process” is essentially Weberian. Personality and social structure are in close inter-relationship—as social structure changes, so does the individual personality structure, which causes further change in social structure. Humans are oriented by both nature and nurture (social learning through informal socialization, education, and socially created reciprocal need) to exist only in interdependent relationship with others. It is through these interdependencies (or “figurations”) that individuals define the self and the world; satisfy their needs, and orient their thoughts and actions. As these figurations change individual personality structure necessarily changes as well. Like a dance, Elias writes, the figuration is independent of the individuals who make it up at any point in time, its character and form largely orients these individuals to one another. But the character and form of the dance itself is highly dependent upon both historical and contemporary individuals who make up the figuration. The individual and society (figurations) are therefore inseparable, that is, they are different parts of a single whole, incapable of being understood as separate phenomena.

Read: Chapter 9: "Norbert Elias's Sociology" in Macrosociology: The Study of Sociocultural Systems.

Links:

Norbert Elias's Process Sociology

The Norbert Elias Foundation

Bibliography:

Elias, N. (1968/2000). Postscript. In N. Elias, The Civilizing Process (pp. 449-483). Malden: Blackwell Publishing.

Elias, N. (1939/2000). The Civilizing Process. (E. Dunning, J. Goudsblom, S. Mennel, Eds., & E. Jephcott, Trans.) Malden: Blackwell Publishing.

Elias, N. (1998). The Norbert Elias Reader. (J. Goudsblom, S. Mennell, Eds., E. Jephcott, R. van Krieken, J. Goudsblom, & S. Mennel, Trans.) Malden: Blackwell Publishing.

Elias, N. (1970/1978). What is Sociology? New York: Columbia University.