Just What is Social Ontology?

Construing ontology as an inventory of what genuinely and nonredundantly exists, this paper investigates two questions: (i) Do all – or any – social phenomena belong in ontology? and (ii) What difference does it make what is, and is not, in ontology? First, I consider John Searle’s account of social...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:	Journal of social ontology Vol. 5; no. 1; pp. 1 - 12
Main Author:	Baker, Lynne Rudder
Format:	Journal Article
Language:	English
Published:	Vienna Walter de Gruyter GmbH 2019 University of Vienna
Subjects:	Epistemology Ontology searle social complexes social individuals social phenomena Social reality
Online Access:	Get full text
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Summary:	Construing ontology as an inventory of what genuinely and nonredundantly exists, this paper investigates two questions: (i) Do all – or any – social phenomena belong in ontology? and (ii) What difference does it make what is, and is not, in ontology? First, I consider John Searle’s account of social ontology, and make two startling discoveries: Searle’s theory of social reality conflicts with his ontological conditions of adequacy; and although ontology concerns existence, Searle’s theory of social reality is wholly epistemic. Then, I offer my own view of social reality, on which social phenomena are ontologically significant. Since ontology concerns what genuinely and nonredundantly exists, anyone interested in what there is ought to care about ontology.
ISSN:	2196-9655 2196-9663
DOI:	10.1515/jso-2019-2001