On Justification

<p>A vital and underappreciated dimension of social interaction is the way individuals justify their actions to others instinctively drawing on their experience to appeal to principles they hope will command respect. Individuals however often misread situations and many disagreements can be explained by people appealing knowingly and unknowingly to different principles. <i>On Justification</i> is the first English translation of Luc Boltanski and Laurent Th&#233;venot's ambitious theoretical examination of these phenomena a book that has already had a huge impact on French sociology and is likely to have a similar influence in the English-speaking world.<br><br> In this foundational work of post-Bourdieu sociology the authors examine a wide range of situations where people justify their actions. The authors argue that justifications fall into six main logics exemplified by six authors: civic (Rousseau) market (Adam Smith) industrial (Saint-Simon) domestic (Bossuet) inspiration (Augustine) and fame (Hobbes). The authors show how these justifications conflict as people compete to legitimize their views of a situation.<br><br><i>On Justification</i> is likely to spark important debates across the social sciences.</p>