The Parma unit will contribute to the research by outlining an “ecological account” of habits as transactions between human organisms and external environments. Specifically, the unit will be concerned with a) Reconstructing the ecological account of habits of American pragmatists, brought into dialogue with contemporary naturalistic anthropologies. The complex relationship between “first nature” and “second nature” will be thematized as a source of habit disruption and transformation. b) The phenomenology of habit and its connection with American pragmatism. Unity research will highlight phenomenology’s debt to pragmatism. On the other hand, an attempt will be made to reach a phenomenological reading of pragmatism, particularly highlighting the intertwined relationship between habits, subjectivity and the external world. c) Critique of habits and habits of transformation. The desire to re-recognize the space of freedom of social actors has led sociologists to question possible transformative openings within courses of action and interaction, which would otherwise be mere repetitions of a status quo. This research unit will compare the transformative openings analyzed by some sociological theories and consider the criticisms they have received, with a focus on the power dynamics underlying these openings.
