Ma`rifat Farhangi Ejtemaei

Clarifying some dark corners of the formation of social action through it, the school of symbolic interaction tried to draw a new approach contrary to the positivist approach. Emphasizing the central and important point that man is a thinking being and has a semantic system, unlike lower animals, this school tries to present the role of symbols and meanings in redefining the category of consciousness outside the framework of positivism. Therefore, the effort of this school in the framework of its diverse approaches to express the role of symbols and meanings in creating action and analyzing its angles has been done in this direction. One of the achievements of this school is that it was able to introduce rational approaches into sociological literature and direct researchers' attention to individuals and motivations of action. On the other hand, this school has numerous and fundamental weaknesses and breaches that seem to be rooted in the pragmatic and material foundations of this school.