From Society to Self (and Back) through Place: Habit in Transactional Context

Abstract

This argument extends the efforts of scholars of occupation and habit in several ways. It extends previous examinations of John Dewey's perspective on habit by bringing to the forefront his view of the social and moral dimensions of habit in the context of his larger metaphysical ground-map. That view suggests a habit process involving the transaction of the social and the individual, with habit as central to that transaction. Dewey's view is further enhanced with a portrayal of how it operates in the material experience of place and landscape. Examples from several scales of place are discussed to illustrate the essential role of material landscapes in this habit process. Using these analyses, the concept of rehabilitation is reconsidered.