Why?

Charles Tilly (1929-2008) was the Joseph L. Buttenwieser Professor of Social Science at Columbia University. His work focused on large-scale social change and its relationship to contentious politics, especially in Europe, since 1500. His many books include "The Politics of Collective Violence; Contention and Democracy in Europe, 1650-2000; Social Movements, 1768-2004; Economic and Political Contention in Comparative Perspective ", coedited with Maria Kousis; "Identities, Boundaries, and Social Ties; Trust and Rule; Regimes and Repertoires; Democracy;" and "Credit and Blame" (Princeton).

• Preface ix CHAPTER ONE: Why Give Reasons? 1 CHAPTER TWO: Conventions 32 CHAPTER THREE: Stories 61 CHAPTER FOUR: Codes 96 CHAPTER FIVE: Technical Accounts 126 CHAPTER SIX: Reconciling Reasons 157 References 181 Index 193

"In the tradition of the legendary sociologist Erving Goffman, Tilly seeks to decode the structure of everyday social interaction, and the result is a book that forces readers to reexamine everything from the way they talk to their children to the way they argue about politics."--Malcolm Gladwell, New Yorker "[A] persuasive book... It is obvious that the cancer specialist talks differently to his colleagues from the way he talks to his patients: exactly what he might be doing in talking differently is Tilly's concern."--Adam Phillips, London Review of Books "We need to impose order on chaos, not by disregarding complicated realities, but by understanding what those complicated realities mean for us. Why? is a stimulating contribution to our thinking about this problem."--Dolan Cummings, Culture Wars "[Charles Tilly] argues convincingly that reason-giving always takes place in a social setting structured by the social relations of the persons in that setting. This [book is] eminently readable and interesting."--Leon H. Brody, Library Journal "Tilly gives us ... a good read, a book that calls our attention to a prevalent human phenomenon and raises the importance of investigating its nature... The book also suggests that we sit down and begin to examine the nature of reason giving in our society--why we spend so much of our time doing it, what effect it has on our social relations, and ... what effect it has on our own behavior and emotions."--Kurt Salzinger, PsycCritiques "While Why? may be a frustrating read to the social scientist looking for methodological innovation, it is warmly recommended for anybody who is simply curious about the central role of reason giving."--Kristian Berg Harpviken, Journal of Peace Research "Tilly's book is insightful, easily accessible to any audience and worth reading."--Richard Findler, European Legacy