The term praxeology seems like a difficult word to understand. However, I will show you that this word is not very difficult to understand. It is a science we use every day.

Praxeology

Praxeology is the conceptual analysis of human action. It is a science that focuses on the logical implications of human action.

Conceptual analysis? Logical implications? Human action? Technical terms to explain a technical term can multiply confusion.

Let me make praxeology easier to understand: Humans act.

Humans Act

My previous post was my humorous attempt to describe praxeology. I began by pointing to the act of reading and I repeated a pattern that I will explain throughout following posts.

Here I want to start with the first paragraph from that post.

So you’re currently reading this post. Well done! That concludes my discussion on praxeology today.

And here you are again reading my post. Your experience of reading my post is a human act.

That’s easy enough to understand and most obvious. But is it really?

Human Action is

Human action is purposeful behavior. Purposeful behavior is behavior that stems from free will. Therefore, we could say that human action is the will put into action.

You are willfully reading my post right now. In fact, all of your activities today are human actions so long as it is purposeful behavior.

Human Action is not

Human action is not reflexive behavior. Reflexive behavior is behavior that does not stem from free will. Therefore, we could say that unconscious behavior is not human action but simply motion.

For example, your heart continues beating apart from your will. It is in motion but not human action. There are other unconscious behaviors your body exhibits such as your knee-jerk reflex, sneezing, or epileptic seizure.

Human Action is Praxeology

You may say “Okay, I get it. Humans do stuff. But what if they don’t do anything. I can purposely do nothing at all. What about human inaction, accidental action, or zombie action? What about involuntary action or action against my will?”

I will get into these questions and more in future posts. It is because of praxeology that I can get into these questions.

Praxeology is the formal science that allows for the understanding of these questions concerning human action and their answers. Praxeology provides context for understanding the nature of human action.

Until next time.