James M. Ostrow is Assistant Professor of Behavioral Sciences, Bentley College.

"The originality of this work springs from Ostrow's solid grasp and critical extension of the ideas of key figures in the phenomenological and sociological traditions. As a result, the proposed theory of habitual sensitivity is creative, novel, and well-grounded. This work makes an important contribution to the growing interest in interpretive approaches to social science inquiry"— David Rehorick, Department of Sociology, University of New Brunswick "Ostrow provides a strong, appealing theoretical foundation for researching the qualitative immediacy of social life. Attacking both cognitivism and subjectivism, the author helps to make phenomenology attractive to social science researchers."— David M. Levin, Department of Philosophy, Northwestern University"This is a very sensitive work, well attuned to the nuances of scholarship and capable of handling texts with understanding and balanced interpretation. I find myself very much in sympathy with the conclusions of this study." — Garth Gillan, Department of Philosophy, Southern Illinois University

• Preface Chapter One Introduction: The Sense and Significance of Social LifeSense and SignificationPrereflective HabitIntersubjectivity as a Problem of HabitSelf-Awareness Prior to Self-ObjectificationThe Subject as a Meeting of Two PastsSocial SensitivityChapter Two From Taken-For-Grantedness to Sensitivity: Toward a Social Theory of Immediate ExperienceHabit and Taken-for-Granted KnowledgeEmbodied SensitivitySociality as a Foundation of ConsciousnessChapter Three The Intersubjective Contact: The Preobjective Level of Social LifeIntersubjectivity and Taken-for-Granted KnowledgeIntersubjective SensitivityExpression as a Medium of ConsciousnessChapter Four The Experience of Self: Sensitivity and Reflexive AwarenessSelf-Awareness and Spontaneous InvolvementReflexive SensitivityThe Preobjective Experience of SelfChapter Five The Disposition of Social Position: Habitus and SensitivityThe Theory of HabitusInstitutional Inhabitation: The Case of the ClassroomThe Embodiment of Social PositionHabit and PossibilityChapter Six Conclusion: Sociology and Human ExperienceNotes References Index