Sep 13, 2026 · 44 min · 10 segments
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Theodore SchatzkiGuestJason CanonHostOne of the central distinctions in the book is between dispersed practices and integrative practices.
Well, that's interesting because that's a, a div-- uh, a distinction that I've stopped actively working with.
Um, and so the idea was you could have, uh, uh, integrated practices were, were more complex They were called integrative because they brought together a variety of kinds of action, whereas a dispersed practice was like a specific kind of action, and the idea was that it could meander through the different integrated practices, taking different forms.
So for instance, you could have a dispersed practice of explaining, and explaining would take on different forms if you're at home, you know, um, ex-explaining why you're cooking a particular dish or whether you're in a law court, you know, explaining why some event happened, or whether you're in a philosophical debate and you're trying to explain something.
So the explanations would look different, but they would be the same sim-- much more simple kind of thing.
And I guess I, I don't know why I found myself simply not using it anymore without giving it any, you know, detailed thought about why.
Um, peop-- many people like this distinction, and so I always feel [chuckles] a little bit on the defensive because I don't use it really anymore, but not because I'm against it.
It's almost, I do think, I guess I began to wonder about the integrity of the dispersed practices, that there was, uh, something that was moving through the different, as opposed to explanations simply being multiple different things that were joined by the same word or concept because maybe, you know, they all attempt to answer a why question or something like that.
One of the central distinctions in the book is between dispersed practices and integrative practices.
Well, that's interesting because that's a, a div-- uh, a distinction that I've stopped actively working with.
Um, and so the idea was you could have, uh, uh, integrated practices were, were more complex They were called integrative because they brought together a variety of kinds of action, whereas a dispersed practice was like a specific kind of action, and the idea was that it could meander through the different integrated practices, taking different forms.
So for instance, you could have a dispersed practice of explaining, and explaining would take on different forms if you're at home, you know, um, ex-explaining why you're cooking a particular dish or whether you're in a law court, you know, explaining why some event happened, or whether you're in a philosophical debate and you're trying to explain something.
So the explanations would look different, but they would be the same sim-- much more simple kind of thing.
And I guess I, I don't know why I found myself simply not using it anymore without giving it any, you know, detailed thought about why.
Um, peop-- many people like this distinction, and so I always feel [chuckles] a little bit on the defensive because I don't use it really anymore, but not because I'm against it.
It's almost, I do think, I guess I began to wonder about the integrity of the dispersed practices, that there was, uh, something that was moving through the different, as opposed to explanations simply being multiple different things that were joined by the same word or concept because maybe, you know, they all attempt to answer a why question or something like that.
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