Formulation of the claim
Tradition and repetition confront modernity and resist it.
Explanation
Tradition and repetition are presented as forces that stand against modernity, not as mere neutral remnants of the past. The point here is that the present does not easily enter the mental and social structure as long as patterns of repetition remain deeply rooted.
This resistance is also tied to the persistence of ritual repetition, insofar as it continues to reproduce familiar forms of understanding and behavior. In this way, change becomes too slow to assert itself, because modernity collides with fixed mechanisms in culture and practice.
Its place in the book’s argument
This atom falls within Arkoun’s presentation of the tension between what modern transformation imposes and what traditional structures preserve in the form of repetition and reiteration. It illuminates one aspect of the argument that sees the crisis of renewal as not relating to thought alone, but to deeper layers of habit and social and religious representation.
Limits of the claim
This atom does not imply that tradition rejects modernity in an absolute sense or that all forms of repetition carry the same meaning. Rather, it points to a general resistance within the cultural field, without detailing its degrees or its different forms.
Brief evidence passage
Tradition and repetition are presented here as forces standing in opposition to modernity, not merely as vestiges of the past. The persistence of ritual repetition keeps older patterns of reception active in the present. Thus modern meaning does not easily enter the mental and social structure.
Related links
- Tradition
- Ritual repetition
- Modernity