Bodily Foundations of Social World: the Place of Body in the Sociology of Durkheim, Simmel and Weber

Abstract

Since it has been an important issue for sociology, the place of body has become a matter of debate in sociological theory. Most sociological studies on body claim that body is not a subject matter for classical sociology. According to these studies, body has become a fundamental issue for sociology only after prominent names such as Foucault and Bourdieu produced important studies in the second half of the 20th century. This brief history has almost always been used to prove in various ways the assertion that "body" is a new subject matter for sociology. In this sense, this study aims to review classical sociological tradition by bringing body into discussion. For this, it is focused on three founding fathers of sociology (Durkheim - Simmel - Weber) who have various approaches to sociology and society. The study traces the concept in these different approaches to present the place of the body in classical sociology. As a conclusion, it is argued that these three names focused exclusively on body while conceptualizing their notion of society, and their analysis of the status of society in the 19th century.