A THEORETICAL DISCUSSION ABOUT THE CONCEPT OF INTELLECTUAL BY IDEAS OF ANTONIO GRAMSCI, MICHEL FOUCAULT AND PIERRE BOURDIEU

Abstract

An intellectual is an important historical and social figure that obtains different meanings in different social structures but takes place in every social order. Intellectuals shape the flow of history and the organization of everyday life as a social actor guiding masses or actively involved in masses. In so doing, it moves either with power or is positioned in opposition to power. In theory, the concept of intellectual has been handled by different theorists. Italian theorist Antonio Gramsci debated the intellectual the concept of "organic intellectual" and researched how it integrated into a community. The French philosopher Michel Foucault used the term "specific intellectual" to refer to the intellectual's place in society through its actions in specific focuses of struggle. Finally, the French sociologist Pierre Bourdieu has addressed the intellectual concept of the occupied society and its oppositional position. In this study, firstly the general definitions of intellectual concept will be assessed, then the intellectual approaches of these three theoreticians will be discussed.