Abstract:
Normative actions are justified socially acceptable since reflections on the action narrate about benefits that can be obtained by the actor. Moreover, the direction of that action (whether that is moralfy justifiable or unjustifiable by society) is a matter of concern to everyday practices of the people. The perceived benefit of a social action that occurs in a given space-time continuum is therefore more important because it determines the nature of future actions of that particular social actor. In line with these philosophical understandings of social action, some social theorists have developed epistemological perspectives to realize the nature of reality ( ontology). However, this research argues that pre-constructed epistemological perspectives which shed light on research methodologies are not more effective, as a considered social action of an individual is difficult to be understood without considering the given meaning to the action by the actor alongside the constructed meanings (that includes essential mental structures internalized as the individual interacts with the society). Objective of the research was to understand how lay people have employed ethno epistemology to justify social action in the everyday social life. The reflexive methodology was employed, which included reflections of data from three different researches conducted using phenomenology, ethnography and grounded theory. The reflections on the data revealed that any social action is justified in accordance with the particular social setting, provided that the place of the individual within the society is clearly comprehended and narrated subjectively. So that ethnoepistemology or the way of generating knowledge in regard to experiences of everyday practices is essential in order to understand any action which is performed in line with norms related to time-space continuum in the society. Overall, the research argues that when interpreting data in a qualitative research, which focuses more on lay narrations, ethnoepistemology shall be employed since it would provide a more holistic perspective than pre-constructed and solid theoretical views.
