When philosophers think of action they generally have in mind a combination of intentionality and simple motor movements. "John flips the switch to turn on the lights." But a great deal of human action is substantially more complex than this. Skilled bodily performance -- playing the piano, returning a tennis serve, fabricating a guitar -- …
Improving skilled performance
What can ordinary experience tell us about how skilled practitioners can be brought to a high level of competence and performance? Let's say we are interested in teaching a child to play the violin at an advanced level, beginning at the novice level. The outcome we want to influence is the child's ability to play …
Skilled synchronized cooperation
One kind of social behavior that is particularly interesting to observe is what we might call "small group skilled cooperation." This kind of social action arises when -- there is a recurring task to be performed by a small defined group of actors; success in the task requires effective performance of specialized actions by members …
Understanding Society 