Action Theory

Action as Fundamental Category

For reflexive philosophy, action is the fundamental category of human existence. Human beings are not primarily thinking beings (as in the rationalist tradition) or perceiving beings (as in empiricism) but acting beings who realise themselves in the world through doing.

The Four Basic Action Types

By applying the four meaning elements to the domain of action, Heinrichs derives four fundamental action types:

1. Object-Related Action

Action directed at the material world: working, producing, transforming things. The Other (nature, material) is treated primarily as a means for achieving goals.

Reflection level: Instrumental rationality Examples: Craftsmanship, agriculture, industrial production, gathering

2. Subject-Related Action

Action directed at oneself: self-care, self-education, self-development. The subject makes itself the object of its own action.

Reflection level: Self-referential rationality Examples: Self-education, exercise, meditation, diary writing

3. Social Action

Action directed at other subjects: communication, cooperation, conflict, care. The Other is recognised as another subject.

Reflection level: Communicative rationality Examples: Conversation, teaching, caring, political negotiation

4. Medium-Related Action

Action directed at the shared horizon of meaning: reflection on ultimate values, ritual, worship, philosophical thought. The Other is the medium of meaning itself.

Reflection level: Metacommunicative rationality Examples: Philosophical reflection, religious ritual, value discourse, artistic creation

The Periodic System of Action Types

Through dialectical subsumption, these four basic types are systematically differentiated:

Level 1: 4 basic action types
Level 2: 16 subcategories (each basic type differentiated into 4)
Level 3: 64 subcategories
Level 4: 256 subcategories

This generates a comprehensive “periodic system of action types” — comparable to the periodic table of elements in chemistry — that systematically captures the full spectrum of human action.

Example: Differentiation of Object-Related Action (Type 1)

1.1 Sensory object engagement (perceiving, exploring, gathering)
1.2 Subjective object appropriation (possessing, forming, refining)
1.3 Social objectification (working, producing for others)
1.4 Medial objectification (trading, monetising, marketing)

Each of these can be further differentiated into four sub-types, and so on.

Correspondence with Societal Subsystems

The four basic action types correspond to the four societal subsystems:

Action Type	Subsystem	Medium
Object-related	Economy	Money
Subject-related	Politics	Power
Social	Culture	Communication
Medium-related	Fundamental Values	Legitimacy

This correspondence shows how individual action and social structure are systematically connected.