APPROACHING THE STUDY OF CIVILIZATION: NORBERT ELIAS’S VIEW

Jeroen Vlug

ABSTRACT

This article analyzes and evaluates Norbert Elias’s figurational approach to the study of civilization and the civilizing process in the context of other theorists, such as Guizot, Buckle, Burckhardt and Spengler. It delves into the semantics of the term “civilization”, which is notoriously ambiguous and multifarious, by exploring its etymology, history, spread and utility in various linguistic contexts (French, German, English). It also takes into account the politics of civilization and ideological usage in the colonialist enterprise of European imperialism. Elias’s original contribution to civilization studies turns out to be a uniquely figurational (or process-sociological) approach which views civilizations not as static but dynamic and developing. Societies move towards civilization through a civilizing process instigated by psycho- and sociogenesis. These processes gradually change society and how people perceive civility, etiquette and modes of morality. The civilizing process culminates into structured civilized behaviors that are closely related to the organization of Western societies into the form of states. Elias’s theory of civilization has severe deficits, such as its neglect of religion (institutionalized or otherwise) and its limited generalizability due to its mere focus on Western civilization. However, his figurational approach is still highly valuable and may be fruitfully utilized for civilizational investigations.