From From Action to Behavior: The Journey of the Concept between Societal Values and the Construction of Human Meaning

Abstract

The article seeks to examine the ontological differences between action and behavior through a multi-level analysis that integrates classical references with contemporary theoretical approaches. It argues that human behavior is not a mechanical reflection of individual intention but the outcome of a complex interaction between the subjective meanings actors construct and the structures, institutions, and normative values that confer a social character on deeds. The text also stresses the status of universal values—such as justice and dignity—as frameworks that orient conduct and lend it a human dimension that transcends situational constraints and the particular composition of human agents.

The article addresses the impact of recent transformations, notably modernization, globalization, and digitization, in reshaping patterns of action and behavior, highlighting the tensions they generate between demands for individual freedom and pressures from collective norms. It contends that these shifts call for the reconstruction of more comprehensive sociological readings of conduct, moving beyond the binary of individual versus society toward a synthetic perspective that accounts for the interpenetration of the subjective and the structural. In conclusion, the text advocates the formulation of educational and institutional policies that address this interplay, thereby balancing the empowerment of actors with the protection of universal values and ethics, and aiming to establish a more stable human meaning in light of contemporary transformations that often foster meaninglessness in human and social practices.