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Language games, or As you like it : A reply to Gergen
Author(s) -
Jahoda Gustav
Publication year - 1986
Publication title -
european journal of social psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.609
H-Index - 111
eISSN - 1099-0992
pISSN - 0046-2772
DOI - 10.1002/ejsp.2420160108
Subject(s) - meaning (existential) , psychology , social psychology , epistemology , scholasticism , philosophy , psychotherapist
Abstract Afrer noting some areas of common ground, in particular my acceptance of the fact that causal analysis is not sufficient to capture motivation and meaning, the main disagreement is pinpointed: in my view causal explanations are relevant to human actions. In response to Gergen's contention that cross‐cultural replications have no bearing on theories, which essentially turn on language games, I submit that his account of cross‐cultural work is in several respects misleading. It is suggested that ignoring the striking regularities of social behaviour runs the risk of a return to empty scholasticism.