Social-Differentiation and Self-Differentiation The Jaina Concept of the Individual and Sociological Individualisation-Paradigms (Part I)

Main author: Flügel, Peter
Format: Journal Article           
Online access: Click here to view record


id eprints-26395
recordtype eprints
institution SOAS, University of London
collection SOAS Research Online
language English
language_search English
topic GN Anthropology
H Social Sciences (General)
PK Indo-Iranian languages and literatures
B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion
D History General and Old World
description While ‘individuality’ is regarded as a cultural construct, this article argues that its trans-cultural investigation has hardly begun, both empirically and theoretically. Comparative work to date has been confined to euro-centric approaches. South Asian models of the individual, though amongst the earliest on record, have not been taken seriously as credible alternatives to European models, other than under the label of ‘ethnosociology’. The present article seeks to redress the balance, by offering a sociological reconstruction of the classical concept of the individual in Jaina philosophy and of its social implications. It argues that previously opaque aspects of the dualistic conception of individuality of the Jainas can be freshly understood, and analysed, with the help of the sociological concepts of G. Simmel and N. Luhmann, which in turn are interpreted as variations of broader transcultural themes.
format Journal Article
author Flügel, Peter
author_facet Flügel, Peter
authorStr Flügel, Peter
author_letter Flügel, Peter
title Social-Differentiation and Self-Differentiation The Jaina Concept of the Individual and Sociological Individualisation-Paradigms (Part I)
publisher Max Weber Studies Society
publishDate 2018
url https://eprints.soas.ac.uk/26395/