A-t-on vraiment besoin de la notion de convention ?

Abstract

What is the real explanatory value of the concept of conventions, used as it is to account for the co-ordination of action ? Distinguishing a technical and a common concept of conventions, the author recognizes the relevance of phenomena highlighted by the theoreticians of conventions, but doubts that the concept which they propose has a very broad explanatory value. It rather appears as a crutch made necessary by an all too cognitivist treatment of problems of co-ordinating action. As an alternative, he proposes reasoning inspired by recent developments in social phenomenology.