Reflexivity as situated problem-solving: a pragmatist alternative to general theory
Recent developments in sociological theory have addressed the linkage between structure and agency via a conception of reflexivity and the agent’s internal conversation as a means of understanding the (variable) contribution that the self and its powers contribute to social outcomes. In this paper,...
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| Format: | Article |
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Società editrice il Mulino
2014
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| Online Access: | https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/33086/ |
| _version_ | 1848794554439827456 |
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| author | Holmwood, John |
| author_facet | Holmwood, John |
| author_sort | Holmwood, John |
| building | Nottingham Research Data Repository |
| collection | Online Access |
| description | Recent developments in sociological theory have addressed the linkage between structure and agency via a conception of reflexivity and the agent’s internal conversation as a means of understanding the (variable) contribution that the self and its powers contribute to social outcomes. In this paper, I present a sociological realism utilising the approach of American pragmatism (Dewey and Mead) to argue for a different way of conceptualising reflexivity, namely as an occasioned feature of interaction. On this view, reflexivity arises in relation to problems in interaction and is oriented to their resolution. It is argued that the self has a social structure and that reflexivity inheres in interactions and not in different types of individual self-identity. The paper discusses general issues of reflexivity in terms of conceptions of sociology’s “dialogic.” Archer’s relation to actors whose behaviours are under scrutiny, before going on to discuss Margaret Archer’s typology of the “inner dialogues” of actors and its use to understand social mobility. |
| first_indexed | 2025-11-14T19:18:02Z |
| format | Article |
| id | nottingham-33086 |
| institution | University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus |
| institution_category | Local University |
| last_indexed | 2025-11-14T19:18:02Z |
| publishDate | 2014 |
| publisher | Società editrice il Mulino |
| recordtype | eprints |
| repository_type | Digital Repository |
| spelling | nottingham-330862020-05-04T16:41:03Z https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/33086/ Reflexivity as situated problem-solving: a pragmatist alternative to general theory Holmwood, John Recent developments in sociological theory have addressed the linkage between structure and agency via a conception of reflexivity and the agent’s internal conversation as a means of understanding the (variable) contribution that the self and its powers contribute to social outcomes. In this paper, I present a sociological realism utilising the approach of American pragmatism (Dewey and Mead) to argue for a different way of conceptualising reflexivity, namely as an occasioned feature of interaction. On this view, reflexivity arises in relation to problems in interaction and is oriented to their resolution. It is argued that the self has a social structure and that reflexivity inheres in interactions and not in different types of individual self-identity. The paper discusses general issues of reflexivity in terms of conceptions of sociology’s “dialogic.” Archer’s relation to actors whose behaviours are under scrutiny, before going on to discuss Margaret Archer’s typology of the “inner dialogues” of actors and its use to understand social mobility. Società editrice il Mulino 2014-01-31 Article PeerReviewed Holmwood, John (2014) Reflexivity as situated problem-solving: a pragmatist alternative to general theory. Sociologica, 2014 (1). pp. 1-26. ISSN 1971-8853 Agency Foundationalism Internal Conversation Social Integration Social Self http://www.sociologica.mulino.it/doi/10.2383/77051 doi:10.2383/77051 doi:10.2383/77051 |
| spellingShingle | Agency Foundationalism Internal Conversation Social Integration Social Self Holmwood, John Reflexivity as situated problem-solving: a pragmatist alternative to general theory |
| title | Reflexivity as situated problem-solving: a pragmatist alternative to general theory |
| title_full | Reflexivity as situated problem-solving: a pragmatist alternative to general theory |
| title_fullStr | Reflexivity as situated problem-solving: a pragmatist alternative to general theory |
| title_full_unstemmed | Reflexivity as situated problem-solving: a pragmatist alternative to general theory |
| title_short | Reflexivity as situated problem-solving: a pragmatist alternative to general theory |
| title_sort | reflexivity as situated problem-solving: a pragmatist alternative to general theory |
| topic | Agency Foundationalism Internal Conversation Social Integration Social Self |
| url | https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/33086/ https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/33086/ https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/33086/ |