meaning

meaning, meaningful action It would be difficult to imagine any sociological study which did not, implicitly or explicitly, look at how people think about the social world and social relationships–in other words at the meanings that the social has for individuals and groups. Indeed, some schools of thought argue that meaning is the only object for sociology, as against those which look for causal explanations by reference to, for example, social structures.

The concept of meaningful action is most closely associated with Max Weber, who distinguishes it from behaviour; that is, from merely physical movement to which the actor does not attach a meaning (for example blinking). Meaningful social action, by contrast, is action directed towards others and to which we can attach a subjective meaning. In this sense, praying alone in a church is meaningful action, as is participating in a church service. Most later theorists accept that these distinctions cannot easily be maintained and take the view that attaching a meaning to something (‘mere behaviour’) is itself an action; and, moreover, a social action because it draws on a socially constructed and accepted language. See also ACTION THEORY; INTERPRETATION.