Experience, Caste, and the Everyday Social [Hardcover]

Sociologists and philosophers have long pointed out that the idea of the social has always been ambiguously defined. This book is an exploration of the nature of this 'social'; it argues that our definition of sociality is influenced largely by our everyday lives, the institutions we are part of, and the relationships we build-all of these experiences catalyse the way we see the social world and shape how we act in it.This book is an exploration of the nature of this 'social'; it argues that our definition of sociality is influenced largely by our everyday lives, the institutions we are part of, and the relationships we build-all of these experiences catalyse the way we see the social world and shape how we act in it. We smell, touch, and taste the social; we belong to the social (every social collection is defined by our sense of belongingness to, for instance, the family, the community, or the caste); and from all of this we understand something of the nature of the social. This volume is a theoretical interpretation of the process of the creation of the 'social' through our everyday lives-of how we construct a sense of 'identity', 'authority', and 'ethics' through sensory perceptions that we experience in our daily lives.PrefaceI. IntroductionII. Conceptualizing the SocialIII. Sensing the SocialIV. Belonging and BecomingV. Social Self and IdentityVI. Authority of the SocialVII. Metaphysical and Lived Time of the SocialVIII. Maitri: Ethical Rationality between Different SocialsIX. ReferencesGopal Guruis a former professor at the Centre for Political Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, and chief editor atEconomic and Political Weekly.Sundar Sarukkaiis a philosopher based in Bengaluru, India.