1.Introduction28Classical Foun

1.Introduction28Classical Foundations[微笑]The third element in this analytical convergence between Durkheim,
Simmel and Marx involves their acknowledgement that interaction between
the body’s generative capacities and the existing structures of society has
important consequences for the subsequent development of both human
potential and the social environment. The body is not only a source of and
location for society, but is a vital means through which individuals are positioned within and oriented towards society. The sensory and sensual engagement of embodied subjects with the structural properties of social life can
either attach them in particular ways to their environment, or distance them
from it. These responses, and their resulting outcomes, re-form the body in
ways which can either enhance or diminish people’s potentialities, and
Marx, Durkheim and Simmel each possess specific concerns about the
effects of modernity on people’s embodied character. This process of positioning – involving a physical attraction to, or revulsion from, social institutions – also constitutes the basis on which social systems persist or
degenerate.