Goals and Behaviour

Journal article | Zeitschriftenartikel

In the first part of this paper I intend to argue that anthropologists have a predominantly causal conception of explanation and that the only feasible way to avoid this is to apply consistently the assumption of goal-orientation of behaviour, that is to hold what could broadly be called a teleological conception of explanation – a view that developments are due to the purpose or design that is served by them. Further on I will try to show that groups and norms do not exist and act independently of people. They have no existence as “things” apart from forming a part of the relevant stock of knowledge of the members of society. They can be brought to bear on actions only by people invoking them. Thus we have to make a sharp distinction between the conceptual or notional level of phenomena, and the transactional or processual level, sometimes known as cultural and social respectively.

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• Alternative title: Cíle a chování
• ISSN: 1804-0616
• Extent: Seite(n): 9-42
• Language: Englisch
• Notes: Status: Veröffentlichungsversion; begutachtet (peer reviewed)

References and Relationships

• Bibliographic citation: Historická sociologie / Historical Sociology(2)

Classification and Topics

• Subject: Sozialwissenschaften, Soziologie ; Ethnologie, Kulturanthropologie, Ethnosoziologie

Contributors, Places and Time

• Event: Geistige Schöpfung
• (who): Stuchlík, Milan
• Event: Veröffentlichung
• (when): 2014

Further information

• DOI: https://doi.org/10.14712/23363525.2014.1
• URN: urn:nbn:de:0168-ssoar-423769
• Rights: GESIS - Leibniz-Institut für Sozialwissenschaften. Bibliothek Köln