{"product_id":"the-concept-of-action-hardback-9780521895286","title":"The Concept of Action (Hardback) 9780521895286","description":"\u003cfont face=\"Georgia\"\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"6\"\u003eThe Concept of Action\u003c\/font\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\r\n\r\n\r\n\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eA new theory of human behaviour, with three core ingredients: language, interaction, and social accountability.\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"4\"\u003eN. J. Enfield (Author), Jack Sidnell (Author)\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e9780521895286, Cambridge University Press\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003eHardback, published 12 October 2017\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e242 pages, 14 b\/w illus.  1 table\u003cbr\u003e23.5 x 15.6 x 1.5 cm, 0.52 kg\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\u003cp align=\"justify\"\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e'This book constitutes a brilliant and indispensable contribution to our understanding of language and agency.' Paul Kockelman, Yale University, Connecticut\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp align=\"justify\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003eWhen people do things with words, how do we know what they are doing? Many scholars have assumed a category of things called actions: 'requests', 'proposals', 'complaints', 'excuses'. The idea is both convenient and intuitive, but as this book argues, it is a spurious concept of action. In interaction, a person's primary task is to decide how to respond, not to label what someone just did. The labeling of actions is a meta-level process, appropriate only when we wish to draw attention to others' behaviors in order to quiz, sanction, praise, blame, or otherwise hold them to account. This book develops a new account of action grounded in certain fundamental ideas about the nature of human sociality: that social conduct is naturally interpreted as purposeful; that human behavior is shaped under a tyranny of social accountability; and that language is our central resource for social action and reaction.\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003ePreface\u003cbr\u003e Acknowledgements\u003cbr\u003e Part I. Preliminaries to Action: 1. Basics of action\u003cbr\u003e 2. The study of action\u003cbr\u003e Part II. The Nature of Action: 3. The distribution of action\u003cbr\u003e 4. The ontology of action\u003cbr\u003e Part III. Action and Human Diversity: 5. Collateral effects\u003cbr\u003e 6. Natural meaning\u003cbr\u003e Postface\u003cbr\u003e Index.\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003eSubject Areas: Social \u0026amp; cultural anthropology, ethnography [\u003ca title=\"See our other books on Social \u0026amp; cultural anthropology, ethnography\" href=\"https:\/\/freshlyprintedbooks.co.uk\/search?q=%22Social%20\u0026amp;%20cultural%20anthropology,%20ethnography%20%5BJHMC%5D%22\"\u003eJHMC\u003c\/a\u003e], Sociology \u0026amp; anthropology [\u003ca title=\"See our other books on Sociology \u0026amp; anthropology\" href=\"https:\/\/freshlyprintedbooks.co.uk\/search?q=%22Sociology%20\u0026amp;%20anthropology%20%5BJH%5D%22\"\u003eJH\u003c\/a\u003e], Linguistics [\u003ca title=\"See our other books on Linguistics\" href=\"https:\/\/freshlyprintedbooks.co.uk\/search?q=%22Linguistics%20%5BCF%5D%22\"\u003eCF\u003c\/a\u003e]\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\r\n\u003c\/font\u003e","brand":"Cambridge University Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46265367232792,"sku":"9780521895286","price":95.48,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0730\/2037\/5320\/products\/9780521895286i.jpg?v=1692022172","url":"https:\/\/freshlyprintedbooks.co.uk\/products\/the-concept-of-action-hardback-9780521895286","provider":"Freshly Printed Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}