Praxiology: An Introduction to the Sciences of Efficient Action

Introduction

Kotarbiński had developed ideas on a general theory of action over several decades; the “Treatise on Good Work” appeared in 1955 and in English, as “Praxiology: An Introduction to the Sciences of Efficient Action”, in 1965. It defines the basic concepts of every purposeful action – agent, aim, means, product, cooperation, struggle – and formulates general recommendations for good work: efficiency, economy of effort, preparation, simplification and the use of instruments. Praxiology is meant as a science that abstracts from particular trades, as logic abstracts from particular contents. It became the foundation of a Polish school of praxiology and of international discussion in organisation and management theory; it is distinct from the “praxeology” of the Austrian economist Ludwig von Mises.

More works by Tadeusz Kotarbiński

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