Elias' Bodies: the conception of body and education from three works of Norbert Elias

Abstract

Discussions on the body and its interconnection with education and civilization made evident the need to explore some elements exposed by Elias in three texts: The Civilizing of Parents (1998); On Human Beings and Their Emotions: A Process-Sociological Essay (1991); and, The Loneliness of the Dying (1985). From that emerges the question of this study: how can the relation between body, education and civilization be addressed from the perspective appointed by Elias? The three works show a civilizing nexus from childhood until elderliness, in a continuous form that complements itself. The body should not be address as an isolated phenomenon, but like bodies that are constructed and complemented throughout the individual’s life – individuals inserted into society.