John Dewey and the Notion of Trans-action

Engaging with three interconnected approaches in the social sciences (pragmatism, processual thinking, and relational thinking), this book leverages John Dewey and Arthur Bentley’s often misunderstood work Knowing and the Known and the concept of trans-action developed therein to revisit and redefine our perceptions of social relations and social life. As it moves us beyond essentialist notions of ‘self-action’ and ‘inter-action,’ trans-action allows us to perceive anew our understandings of ourselves, others, and the social fields, networks, organizations, and processes through which we make our way in the world. The contributors gathered here use these notions in a more specific sense, showing why and how social scientists and philosophers might use them to better understand our social life and social problems. As the first collective sociological attempt to apply the concept of trans-action to contemporary social issues, this volume is a key reference for the growing audience of relational and processual thinkers in the social sciences and beyond.