Action research and the study of human being

Abstract

"Despite the openness of action research to engage with several philosophical movements from the 20th century, there does not seem to be as much engagement with existentialist thought. I try to point out and further articulate certain affinities that I see between action research and existentialist philosophy. I suggest that action research can gain from exploring these connections. Based on the existentialist perspective, I compare action research and more standard social science. In particular, I use Heidegger’s notions of “das Man” and an “existentialist essence” of human being as a key to bringing out these differences and for suggesting ways in which action research may capitalize on such differences." (author's abstract)