Abstract:

This chapter proposes to extend Smedslund’s axiomatic system of psycho-logic (PL) into a psycho/socio-logic theory that is based upon insights from social theory and from the so-called linguistic turn in the social sciences. It will be argued that developing a conceptual system for psychology as Smedslund did makes only sense if it is embedded in a broader context of social theory since psychological phenomena cannot be separated from the social realm. Smedslund focusses upon the agency of people, but one needs also to take into account the impact of structures on people. To this end, a reformulation of some of the axioms of PL will be presented that take as a starting point the notion that persons are social and moral beings and that the study of persons should start with the conversational context in which they operate.