BELIEVING IN BELIEF: GIBBON, LATOUR AND THE SOCIAL HISTORY OF RELIGION
View / Open Files
Authors
Arnold, John H
Publication Date
2022Journal Title
PAST & PRESENT
ISSN
0031-2746
Publisher
Oxford University Press (OUP)
Type
Article
This Version
AM
Metadata
Show full item recordCitation
Arnold, J. H. (2022). BELIEVING IN BELIEF: GIBBON, LATOUR AND THE SOCIAL HISTORY OF RELIGION. PAST & PRESENT https://doi.org/10.1093/pastj/gtac012
Abstract
<jats:title>Abstract</jats:title>
<jats:p>While in recent decades historians have, to some degree, engaged with anthropological debates over the nature of ‘religion’, they have tended still to take the key term ‘belief’ somewhat for granted. This article suggests that we have inherited an Enlightenment legacy of thought on ‘belief’ that tends to treat it as credulity when applied to the general masses (taking Edward Gibbon as an important exemplar of that legacy). More recently, the theorist Bruno Latour has written about belief in terms of J. L. Austin’s speech-act theory, a useful theoretical move, despite the fact that Latour himself in some ways mirrors Gibbon’s perspective, particularly as it applies to the pre-modern. Using a range of examples to discuss change over time, via a case study of southern France about 1000 to 1300, this article argues that social historians may find it useful to consider these issues in terms of performative ‘belief acts’, where the contextual setting — the ‘conditions of felicity’, to use Latour’s and Austin’s phrase — are amenable to historical analysis.</jats:p>
Embargo Lift Date
2024-09-07
Identifiers
External DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/pastj/gtac012
This record's URL: https://www.repository.cam.ac.uk/handle/1810/333531
Statistics
Total file downloads (since January 2020). For more information on metrics see the
IRUS guide.
Recommended or similar items
The current recommendation prototype on the Apollo Repository will be turned off on 03 February 2023. Although the pilot has been fruitful for both parties, the service provider IKVA is focusing on horizon scanning products and so the recommender service can no longer be supported. We recognise the importance of recommender services in supporting research discovery and are evaluating offerings from other service providers. If you would like to offer feedback on this decision please contact us on: support@repository.cam.ac.uk