Action Theory and Literary Interpretation

In: Administration & society, Band 19, Heft 3, S. 346-366

Abstract

This article relates the logic of literary interpretation to the logic of administrative action theory. It offers criteria for validating interpretations of administrative action. It shows how action theory can be rescued from misplaced claims of subjectivism by locating the meaning of an act with the intention of the actor. It also points out that both the meaning and the significance of an administrative action are related to interpretations and critiques of social situations. Interpretation and critique are then seen as prerequisites for planned social change.