On the Concept of Motive in Sociology

It is noted that Weber's original programme for understanding the conduct of individuals cannot be realised because the concept of motive is no longer employed by sociologists. The principal reasons for this loss are shown to lie in C. Wright Mills's reformulation of the concept in conjunction with the influence of certain post-Wittgensteinian philosophers. Taken together these influences led to a progressive process of displacement as first, the original `dynamic' connotations were discarded such that `motive' was equated with `the reason' or `the reasons' for acting, and then second, identified with `justifications' and `excuses'. The arguments advanced to support these changes of usage are then considered and shown to be in part dependent on selective interpretations, or to rest on contestable claims concerning the contexts in which actors might discuss motives and the role of actor-accounts in action. It is concluded that there is no good reason for the abandonment of the concept of motive. 1