Abstract
This essay discusses the epistemology and methodology to understand the body sociologically. As the nucleus of this examination, I use Loïc Wacquant’s “carnal sociology”. “Carnal sociology” is Wacquant’s realization of his master Pierre Bourdieu’s “reflexive sociology” and was proposed as a rethinking of sociological epistemology and methodology. The characteristic of carnal sociology is not only the sociology of the body but also the “sociology from the body”. “Sociology from the body” means that the body of the sociologist is a means for researching the social body. However, Wacquant does not adequately consider how the body is reflected in fieldwork. In this context, I examine the “somaesthetics” that Richard Shusterman advocates. He postulates “somatic reflection” that does not fit the scheme of “reflective-unreflective” and attempts to show the possibilities of this “somatic reflection.” In conclusion I assert sociologist must embody “somatic-sociological reflection.”
