Model of Meaning

Meaning is a fundamental component of the social world (Luhmann, 1995; Schutz & Luckmann, 1973; Weber, 1946). People inhabiting the social world interpret the meaning of natural objects in their environment and social objects, including others, and act based on these interpretations. If we call the mechanism by which people interpret the meanings of objects and other people’s actions and link them to their own actions the meaning-making mechanism (Lamont, 2000), then social science, which aims to explain the behavior of people and groups, must, as its fundamental task, elucidate this meaning-making mechanism as its fundamental task.