{"product_id":"9780745613727","title":"The Social Theory of Practices Tradition, Tacit Knowledge and Prepositions","description":"\u003ch1\u003eThe Social Theory of Practices\u003c\/h1\u003e\u003ch2\u003eTradition, Tacit Knowledge and Prepositions\u003c\/h2\u003e\u003ch3\u003eStephen P. Turner\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cb\u003eSocial Science \/ Sociology \/ Social Theory\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cdiv\u003eThis book presents the first analysis and critique of the idea of practice as it has developed in the various theoretical traditions of the social sciences and the humanities. The concept of a practice, understood broadly as a tacit possession that is 'shared' by and the same for different people, has a fatal difficulty, the author argues. This object must in some way be transmitted, 'reproduced', in Bourdieu's famous phrase, in different persons. But there is no plausible mechanism by which such a process occurs. The historical uses of the concept, from Durkheim to Kripke's version of Wittgenstein, provide examples of the contortions that thinkers have been forced into by this problem, and show the ultimate implausibility of the idea of the interpersonal transmission of these supposed objects. Without the notion of 'sameness' the concept of practice collapses into the concept of habit.  \u003cp\u003eThe conclusion sketches a picture of what happens when we do without the notion of a shared practice, and how this bears on social theory and philosophy. It explains why social theory cannot get beyond the stage of constructing fuzzy analogies, and why the standard constructions of the contemporary philosophical problem of relativism depend upon this defective notion.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e \u003cb\u003eStephen Turner\u003c\/b\u003e is the author of several previous books including \u003ci\u003e The Search for a Methodology of Social Science \u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003e Sociological Analysis as Translation.\u003c\/i\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ctable\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003ePublication Date: \u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e30 March 1994\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003ePublisher: \u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003ePolity Press\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eImprint: \u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003ePolity\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eISBN-13: \u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e9780745613727\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eFormat: \u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003ePaperback \/ softback\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003ePage Count: \u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e160\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eWeight (oz): \u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e9.0\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003c\/table\u003e","brand":"Polity Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":44310794207372,"sku":"9780745613727","price":21.38,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0710\/9545\/1788\/files\/9780745613727_e7242cfc-a3aa-4ff2-91d9-8be18dad78fb.jpg?v=1780175324","url":"https:\/\/fh90cf-fv.myshopify.com\/products\/9780745613727","provider":"Late Knight Books and Services, LLC","version":"1.0","type":"link"}