Past, present and future of catalan philosophic «field»

Abstract

Pierre Bourdieu’s «field theory» aids us to understand the peculiarities of Catalan philosophy. Its historical trajectory, present concerns and future prospects become some what elucidated if we take into account the manifold heteronomic constraints (mainly political, religious and cultural) that have long prevailed over it. Centralism, conservatism, classism and castilianism, indeed, have historically denied it a life of its own. Yet in the last decades a noticeable weakening of this heteronomic stifling led to expect that Catalan thought would manage a sort of autonomic take-off. It seemed on the verge of outlining precisely what Bourdieu labels as “field”. However, not only some aspects of the secular heteronomic choking seem to revive in the present time, but other new-brand shackling forces have unexpectedly come out and threaten to quash the flimsily attained autonomy. If these fetters prevail, Catalan philosophy will decay into the condition in which fields fall apart when smothered by an overwhelming heteronomic might.

Key words: Catalan philosophy; social field; Pierre Bourdieu; heteronomy; symbolic capital.