Philip Gorski

Public Evening Lecture:
From Pascal’s Theology to Bourdieu's Sociology, or Just How
Pascalian are the Méditations pascaliennes?
Philip Gorski
Professor of Sociology and Religious Studies at Yale University
Why did Bourdieu ally himself with Pascal? What does Bourdieu’s sociology have to do with Pascal’s theology? In
this talk, Prof. Gorski highlights similarities in Bourdieu and Pascal’s biographical trajectories and intellectual
positioning as well as in their ethics and politics. He argues that Bourdieusian theory has much in common with
the hyper-Augustinianism of Pascalian theology, namely, a deep pessimism about human nature, human freedom
and the social and political order. He concludes that a critical sociology like Bourdieu’s must be supplemented
with a positive sociology, and he identifies one potential source: the Aristotelian tradition, which provides a more
optimistic vision of human development and political freedom.
Freitag, 15. April 2016, 18:00 (c.t.)
Ort: Lichtenberg-Kolleg, Historische Sternwarte
Geismar Landstraße 11, 37083 Göttingen
Öffentlicher Abendvortrag im Rahmen der Jahrestagung der Sektion Religionssoziologie der Deutschen
Gesellschaft für Soziologie zum Thema „Religionssoziologie und soziologische Theoriebildung“, 15.-16.04.2016
Kontakt:
Prof. Dr. Matthias Koenig, Institut für Soziologie
[email protected]

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