In the section: Practical vs. Scientific Knowledge, p. 8, the everyday actor is described. See this sentence: "This is the important feature of the everyday actor's knowledge: It is practical mot scientific." Using information that follows in the NEXT paragraph of the text, explain WHY this is important.
“But you probably can't explain how it works in a tech. nical way; you know only how it works for you in a practical, everyday way. This is the important feature of the everyday actor's knowledge: It is practical, not scientific.
To acquire knowledge about the social world that is systematic, comprehensive, coherent, clear, and consistent, you'll need to take a different approach. The social analyst has to "place in question everything that seems unquestiona ble" to the everyday actor (Schutz 1962, p. 96). In other words, the social analyst takes the perspective of a stranger in the social world; a social analyst tries to verify what the everyday actor might just accept as truth. For instance, people tend to believe that women are more talkative than men. This might seem so evident, in fact, as not to be worth investi gating. The social analyst, however, would investigate and deliver a more complex conclusion than you might think.
There are strengths and weaknesses in both approaches:
The analyst sees with clarity what the actor glosses over, but the actor understands implicitly what the Falyst labors to grasp. Once you've learned more about the theories and methods that come next, you'll be able to combine the virtues of both analyst and actor. The result will be a more profound and comprehensive understanding of the social world.”
