What is the real implication of the "Practice Turn" in Social Theory?
1. Traditionally it is believed that all Action is guided/directed by prior Thought; that we always Think before we Act. Every Action, therefore, is attributable to Prior Mental Processing; Cognitivism (a reliance on symbolic manipulation) is presupposed.
2. The Practice Turn forces us to reconsider this fundamental Cognitivist assumption. The emphasis is on Acquired Habit (what Bourdieu calls "Habitus") as the underlying cause of an Action taken; we Act Habitually and Unthinkingly in response to the Demands of a Situation because that is how we have been Socialized into Responding through unconsciously-internalized Social Practices. Practices, therefore, not deliberate Cognitive processing, is the cause of Everyday Coping Actions.
3. In explaining human Behaviour, therefore, Habitus accounts for much of how we spontaneously Cope and deal successfully with exigencies; very little mental processing is required. The Practice Turn reminds us how thoroughly Social Beings we are. It helps explain what Cognitivism and especially Rational Instrumentalism cannot account for.
