Whose knowledge?

Abstract

Behaviour of an individual is seen as the result of a series of decisions taken on the basis of his taken-for-granted knowledge about the universe - that knowledge is shared by specific others. That is the social reality we are trying to explain. The individual is able to account for his behavior and state of his knowledge in contingent, episodic and anecdotal ways because of its "taken-for-grantedness". However, a detailed study permits us to present both his actions and his knowledge in a systematic way, together with the principles by which he organizes them. The fact of action being taken as result of a series of decisions means that the individual is not just a "norm-fulfilling unit", he is, within limits given by his knowledge, manipulating his social world.