Ethnomethodologists draw heavily on the European tradition of phenomenoiogical philosophy and in particular acknowledge a debt to the ideas of the philosopher-sociologist Aflred Schutz (1899-1959).
Many ethnomethodologists begin with the assumption that society exists only in so far as members perceive its existence. (The term member replaces the interactionist term actor). With this emphasis on members’ views of social reality, ethnomethodology is generally regarded as a classes and ruling elites.