Culture of Action

The present work introduces innovative research on Symbolic Action Theory, blending theoretical insights with practical applications in psychology. It revisits Ernest Boesch's foundational concepts in Symbolic Action Theory and proposes further advancements in the field. These contributions pave the way for theoretical refinements as well as applied research aimed at enriching clinical, educational, and life-philosophical interventions both within and beyond academic contexts. This book is designed to engage psychologists from diverse specialties while also serving as a valuable resource for practitioners operating in clinical and non-clinical settings alike.

From Fantasms to Action: The Collective Action Potential (Editor' s Preface). - . E. E. Boesch s Cultural Psychology: A Framework for Theory and Practice (Author s Preface). - 1. From What-Is to What-Should-Be: A Systematic Approach to Understanding Action in Cultural Psychology. - 2. The Action Phase Model in Irreversible Time. - 3. The Action Potential Concept and its Underlying Mechanisms. - 4. The Interplay of Stress, Action Potential and Cultural Pre-Conditioning: Beyond Symbolic Action Theory. - 5. The Dynamics of Affect: Symbol Action Theory and Affect-Theory Re-Loaded. - 6. Collective Action Potential and I/World Balance: The role of gatekeepers and dialogical isles of mediation. - 7. Dialogues with the Amorphous Inner: An Action-Theoretical Approach to Psychoanalysis. - 8. The Quest for Meaning: Exploring Action-Theoretical Life Philosophy. - 9. The Power of Symbols: Navigating Existential Themes Through Poetic Dialogue. - 10. Ongoing Narration in the Works of Hermann Hesse: The Trace of the Nature, You, and Departure Fantasm. - . Dialogues in Cultural Psychology: Between Boesch, Bruner, and Valsiner (Postface). - . Appendix A: English Translation of Welcome and Farewell by Edgar Alfred Bowring (1874). - . Appendix B: STEPS by Hermann Hesse and translated by Gonzalez-Trejos). - . Appendix C: Sterben und Auferstehn (Matthias Claudius).