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  • © 2013

The Background of Social Reality

Selected Contributions from the Inaugural Meeting of ENSO

  • Easily accessible survey of a wide spectrum of positions addressing the foundational works of such personalities as Tuomela, Searle, and Gilbert
  • Unique collection of leading scholars in the field of social ontology and collective intentionality
  • Multi-disciplinary approach to problems within social science
  • Includes supplementary material: sn.pub/extras

Part of the book series: Studies in the Philosophy of Sociality (SIPS, volume 1)

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Table of contents (14 chapters)

  1. Front Matter

    Pages i-vi
  2. The Ontology of Groups: Their Minds, Intentions, Actions and Interactions

    1. Front Matter

      Pages 11-11
    2. Trying to Act Together

      • Hans Bernhard Schmid
      Pages 37-55
    3. Missing the Forest for the Trees

      • Kendy Hess
      Pages 57-75
    4. The Boys Carried the Piano Upstairs

      • Beatrice Kobow
      Pages 77-90
    5. Creating Interpersonal Reality through Conversational Interactions

      • Antonella Carassa, Marco Colombetti
      Pages 91-104
  3. Into the Background: Capacities and Cases

    1. Front Matter

      Pages 105-105
  4. Into the Background: Capacities and Cases

    1. Social Rules and the Social Background

      • Michael Schmitz
      Pages 107-125
    2. Sharing the Background

      • Titus Stahl
      Pages 127-146
  5. Social Reality: Its Essence and Constitution

    1. Front Matter

      Pages 183-183
  6. Social Reality: Its Essence and Constitution

    1. Arbitral Functions and Constitutive Rules

      • Emanuele Bottazzi, Roberta Ferrario
      Pages 201-215

About this book

This volume aims at giving the reader an overview over the most recent theoretical and methodological findings in a new and rapidly evolving area of current theory of society: social ontology. This book brings together philosophical, sociological and psychological approaches and advances the theory towards a solution of contemporary problems of society, such as the integration of cultures, the nature of constitutive rules, and the actions of institutional actors. It focuses on the question of the background of action in society and illuminates one of the most controversial, cross-disciplinary questions of the field while providing insight into the ontological structure of groups as agents.

This volume offers an interesting and important contribution to the debate as it does well in bridging the gap between the analytical and the continental tradition in social philosophy. In addition, this volume expands the reach and depth of the philosophy of sociality by relating it to philosophical ideas from the late 19th and early 20th centuries and to key thinkers such as Husserl, Heidegger, and Bourdieu.

The contributors include internationally renowned scholars as well as a highly selected set of younger scholars whose work is at the cutting edge of their field. Scholarly, yet accessible, this book is an essential resource for researchers across the social sciences. ​

Reviews

“The book might be an interesting companion to social ontology, not only for professional philosophers or sociologists but also for all who are interested in a variety of aspects of the social. It presents contributions of the younger generation interested in the philosophy of society, in most cases grown in the tradition of collective intentionality, and from the spatial point of view, a significant part of contributors come from European (partially continental) traditions, which may significantly complement analytic/atlantic tradition.” (Rafał Paweł Wierzchosławski, Anthropos, Vol. 111, 2016)

Editors and Affiliations

  • Institut für Philosophie, Universität Wien, Wien, Austria

    Michael Schmitz, Hans Bernhard Schmid

  • , Institut fur Philosophie, Universität Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany

    Beatrice Kobow

Bibliographic Information

Buy it now

Buying options

eBook USD 84.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book USD 109.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Other ways to access