The Civilizing Process By Norbert Elias Essay example -- essays resear

DP Summary: The Civilizing Process by Norbert Elias Social scientist, Norbert Elias, examines in part two of his book, The Civilizing Process, the development of manners and the subsequent ‘civilizing’ of Western Europe since the middle ages. This journey in time is an attempt to understand what actually happened to humanity during several transitional periods. Elias perceives the development of western civilization in three historical stages. (From the middle ages with a progression to the renaissance (extended to 1750) and finally to modern day society) Each society of the three stages had it’s own standards of behavior, which influenced the individual to act in a certain â€Å"accepted† way. A correlation was also found between the sudden appearance of words in a language and the transitional periods between each historical stage of the civilizing process. Meaning, as people change and grow, so to does society. In essence, Elias is speaking of the maturity of a people. The usage of the word courtoisis acquired its meaning from Western society during the middle ages. This concept gradually diminish in the upper class, while civilite’ grew more widespread in France during the Renaissance. The concept of civilite was an expression and a symbol of a social formation, which was embraced by most nations. Civilite owes its specific meaning to a short treatise by Erasmus of Rotterdam, (On civility in boys), which became socially accepted in 1530. Erasmus provided a fresh sharpness a...