Tradition sustains ontological security by giving routine intrinsic meaning

Evidence

Tradition is routine. But it is routine which is intrinsically meaningful, rather than merely empty habit for habit’s sake. Time and space are not the contentless dimensions they become with the development of modernity but are contextually implicated in the nature of lived activities. The meanings of routine activities lie in the general respect or even reverence intrinsic to tradition and in the connection of tradition with ritual. Ritual often has a compulsive aspect to it, but it is also deeply comforting, for it infuses a given set of practices with a sacramental quality. Tradition, in sum, contributes in basic fashion to ontological security in so far as it sustains trust in the continuity of past, present, and future, and connects such trust to routinised social practices. — Anthony Giddens, The Consequences of Modernity, 253

Categorization

• XREF: Directly relevant to Stevens: his ‘dignity’ is a tradition-as-routine whose intrinsic meaning collapses once the lord it served is morally discredited, leaving empty habit. — connects to: Trust in persons and things sustains ontological security. — Anthony Giddens, The Consequences of Modernity, 225; The ritual view of communication maintains society in time through shared beliefs — James W. Carey, Communication as Culture- Essays on…, 161; Tradition is about how elements are articulated, not about persistence of old forms — Hall, Stuart, Essential Essays, Volume 1, 1017 (+3 more)
• ADDENDUM: Ties to the grafting article’s metaphor: tradition as a root system giving routines their meaning, which becomes hollow when the roots are severed.

Related

• Tradition does not resist change but lacks markers to give change meaning. (similarity 0.79)

Broader Connections

• Tradition is about how elements are articulated, not about persistence of old forms #complicates (0.60) — Hall, Stuart, Essential Essays, Volume 1, 1017
• Culture is defined as lived meanings plus embodied traditions responding to conditions #corroborates (0.60)
• The ritual view of communication maintains society in time through shared beliefs #corroborates (0.55) — James W. Carey, Communication as Culture- Essays on…, 161
• Time-binding cultures value history, ritual symbols, and rooted community #corroborates (0.50) — James W. Carey, Communication as Culture- Essays on…, 624