Reflexivity as a mediating element – The case of Francisco Milanez

Abstract

This article aimed to discuss how Pierre Bourdieu’s concept of reflexivity was conceived, and how it influenced and was developed by Bernard Lahire’s in his sociology. To operationalize the way the concept is articulated, but emphasizing its development by Lahire, this paper presents as an empirical case how reflexivity was engendered in José Francisco Bernardes Milanez’ biographical trajectory, a historical environmental activist from the Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul. The central argument we defend is that the Bourdieusian-inspired concept of reflexivity has a certain objectivist and structuralist weight, which gives a secondary role to individuals’ reflection capacity and agency. Despite this weight, reflexivity acts as a mediator between structures and their individual agency within actors’ social lives. In this sense, reflexive capacities can be better understood and analyzed by considering the ways individuals connect their daily practices, dialectically and concomitantly, with reflexive processes. This article emphasizes that sociological analyses at the individual level can be potentially more substantive if they consider structure, agency, and reflexivity in an integrated way. Finally, we argue that the conceptual and argumentative association of elements from the two authors helps to avoid false antinomies.