Bourdieu or the «Trojan horse» of structuralism

Abstract

In this article we summarize the conceptual genesis of the social theory of the French sociologist Pierre Bourdieu. We focus on the way his theoretical principles are developed. His sociology accounts for a meaningful feature: his practical tools consist of intellectual elaborations stemming from philosophy but to be applied in practice and in empirical confrontation. As they are extremely contingent, we believe the building of a genealogy can prove to be most interesting. On the other hand, at the beginning of the article we work under the hypothesis —offering some data for reflection— of a possible change in his attitude once the ideas behind his social theory mature.