Social ontology,practical reasonableness,and collective reasons for action

I argue that the ontology of human social institutions and collective intentionality could be anchored in the normative notion of ‘practical reasonableness’ as collective reason for action. This involves the deontic idea of mutuality, accepted rules, and shared attitudes of other‐regardedness. I examine John Searle's three primitive notions of social ontology: collective intentionality, assignment of social functions, and constitutive rules and procedures. I use these notions to provide a plausible basis for understanding how people reason, in order to arrive at practically reasonable decisions and collective agency. Searle argues that social reality, institutions, processes, and facts are grounded in collective intentionality and the acceptance of social rules, procedures, and functions. I argue that collective intentionality and socially accepted rules are anchored in the need for human interdependence that engenders the social rules and norms or attitudes of ‘practical reasonableness’. I analyze the concept of ‘practical reasonableness’ as a representation of human mode of reasoning that involves collective intentionality.     

Organisation,Emergence and Cambridge Social Ontology

John Searle has mistakenly claimed that emergence is the central concept in the account of social ontology defended by Tony Lawson, the central figure in the project now regularly referred to as Cambridge Social Ontology. This is not the case. Rather, if any concept can be considered central for Lawson, it is organisation. In this paper, I explain how Searle could misunderstand Lawson and, in doing so, I bring out the importance of organisation for understanding how phenomena, both social and non-social, are constituted.     

Game theory,cheap talk and post‐truth politics: David Lewis vs. John Searle on reasons for truth‐telling

I offer two potential diagnoses of the behavioral norms governing post‐truth politics by comparing the view of language, communication, and truth‐telling put forward by David Lewis (extended by game theorists), and John Searle. My first goal is to specify the different ways in which Lewis, and game theorists more generally, in contrast to Searle (in the company of Paul Grice and Jürgen Habermas), go about explaining the normativity of truthfulness within a linguistic community. The main difference is that for Lewis and game theorists, “truthful” signaling follows from an alignment of interests, and deception follows from mixed motives leading to the calculation that sending false information is better for oneself. Following in the Enlightenment tradition, Searle argues that practical reasoning, which involves mastery of at least one language, requires that actors intend to communicate. This intention includes constraining the content of statements to uphold veracity conditions. After distinguishing between these two accounts, I will articulate the implications for explaining, and even informing actions, constitutive of post‐truth politics. I argue that the strategic view of communication is sufficient neither to model everyday conversation nor to reflect a public sphere useful for democratic government. Both the pedagogy of strategic communication as cheap talk, and its concordance with new digital information technologies, challenge norms of truthfulness that underlie modern institutions essential to an effective public sphere.     

记忆中的伤痛：阶级建构逻辑下的集体认同与抗战叙事

对于数以千万计亲历二战的中国民众来说,战争期间日本侵略者在中国土地上所犯下的残暴罪行无疑会在他们的心里产生极大的创伤感。然而在中华人民共和国成立之后的很多年间,这种刻骨铭心的国族受难和遭受非正义的经历,却长期停留在民间个体记忆中,没有成为围绕战争所进行的官方话语表达的核心。本文旨在借助文化创伤（cultural trauma）理论,对这一围绕抗战创伤经历所发生的“文化失忆”现象进行全新的探索。文章首先梳理1949年之后阶级创伤叙事的形成以及以此为基础所进行的集体身份建构,然后通过梳理抗战记忆在官方话语中的呈现,检讨战争中国族受难经历与阶级创伤宏大叙事之间所形成的逻辑冲突,进而指出正是这种逻辑冲突在某种意义上阻抑了抗战创伤叙事的形成。     

Happiness Vs Contentment? A Case for a Sociology of the Good Life

Despite the enormous growth in happiness research in recent decades, there remains a lack of consistency in the use of the terms happiness, satisfaction, contentment and well‐being. In this article I argue for a sociologically grounded distinction between happiness and contentment that defines the former as positive affect and the latter as positive reflection. Contentment is therefore understood as a fulfilling relationship with the self and society (to borrow from G.H. Mead's terminology) and happiness involves pleasurable experiences. There is a history of similar distinctions in philosophy and psychoanalysis, but much of the contemporary discourse fails to distinguish between individual and collective definitions of happiness. This article will argue that happiness and contentment ought not to be treated as competing approaches to the good life, but as complimentary forms of emotional experience. Further, I argue that the current interest in happiness can be linked to larger culture shifts involving neoliberalism and individualism.     

INTERPRETING ASYLUM,REINTERPRETING REFUGEES: AN AUSTRALIAN CASE-STUDY

Australian responses to Cambodian asylum-seekers have been characterised by a continuing history of conflict between the legislative, executive and judicial branches of Government. I argue that this conflict has worked to conceal Australian international and humanitarian obligations towards asylum-seekers and refugees. In addition to this, terms used to describe asylum-seekers and refugees as ‘boat people’ ‘queue jumpers’ ‘economic refugees’ etc, have operated as categories of bureaucratic control and political power which have also worked to conceal those obligations. Further to this, I explore the form and content of the relevant international instruments as these articulate the obligations upon states in the grant of asylum. I then examine Australian responses to Cambodian asylum-seekers and argue that the international instruments are no longer sufficient obligation upon signatory states such as Australia, to entrench the rights of asylum-seekers. I therefore suggest an extension to the current theoretical debate as this might inform possible ways in which to reconceptualise both the rights of asylum-seekers and the international and humanitarian obligations upon those countries from which they seek asylum.     

Self-Plagiarism and Textual Recycling: Legitimate Forms of Research Misconduct

The concept of self-plagiarism frequently elicits skepticism and generates confusion in the research ethics literature, and the ethical status of what is often called “textual recycling” is particularly controversial. I argue that, in general, self-plagiarism is unethical because it is deceptive and dishonest. I then distinguish several forms of it and argue against various common rationalizations for textual recycling. I conclude with a discussion of two instances of textual recycling, distinguishing them in terms of their ethical seriousness but concluding that both are ethically problematic.     

The topic of subjectivity in psychology: Contradictions,paths and new alternatives

This paper draws a picture of how topics related to subjectivity have appeared in different psychological theories, such as psychoanalysis, Gestalt and post‐structuralist approaches, discussing in depth a specific proposition from a cultural‐historical standpoint. I argue that, in most of these theories, subjectivity has been used to refer to specific processes and phenomena without advancing a more general theory about it. The way in which subjectivity was treated within the Cartesian/Enlightenment tradition, taken together with the individualistic tradition of psychology, led critical psychological theories to reject the concept. In this way, such critical theories have omitted the heuristic value of subjectivity to study processes that can neither be exhausted by language, nor by discourse. A new proposal of subjectivity is highlighted, based on the cultural‐historical tradition in psychology. From this perspective, subjectivity is defined by units of emotions and symbolical processes generated throughout human experience. On the basis of such definition, I discuss how institutionalized orders can be subverted by subjective productions that represent new social pathways. Far from being a remnant of Modernity, in this way subjectivity is defined as a human production, capable of transcending the apparent objective limits of human existence.     

社会表演理论：在仪式和策略之间建立文化语用学模型（下）

一直以来，对文化的社会研究不是被极端化为结构主义理论就是被极端化为实用主义理论，前者视意义为文本并注重探索提供相对自主性的模式，后者则将意义处理为由个人或集体行动之权变性的创发--即所谓的实践本身，并将文化模式作为权力和物质利益之反应加以分析。在本文中，我将阐述一个超越这种极化视野的文化语用学理论，以新的方式将意义结构、权变性、权力和物质性融为一体。我的论点是，实践的物质性可以由维度更多的表演概念所取代。通过对表演研究这一新领域的成果的吸收，文化语用学说明社会表演，无论个人还是集体的，是如何可能被系统地类推为剧场表演的。在定义了社会表演的要素之后，我认为，随着社会变得更加复杂，这些要素已经趋于“分解”（de fused）。只有在能够将这些日渐离析的要素“再融合”的情况下，表演才会成功。在融合化的表演中，观众认同演员，且文化剧本通过有效的舞台布景达到逼真的程度。而当诸要素重新连接的过程并不完美时,表演就会失败：表演要素仍处于分离状态，社会行动看上去不但不够本真（authentic），而且显得造作和难以令人信服。与此相对，再融合能使演员成功地传达其行动的意义并有效地实现他们的利益。     

The Analysis of the Borders of the Social World: A Challenge for Sociological Theory

ABSTRACT: In order to delimit the realm of social phenomena, sociologists refer implicitly or explicitly to a distinction between living human beings and other entities, that is, sociologists equate the social world with the world of living humans. This consensus has been questioned by only a few authors, such as Luckmann, and some scholars of science studies. According to these approaches, it would be ethnocentric to treat as self-evident the premise that only living human beings can be social actors. The methodological consequence of such critique is a radical deanthropologization of sociological research. It must be considered an open question whether or not only living human can be social actors. The paper starts with a discussion of the methodological problems posed by such an analysis of the borders of the social world, and presents the results of an empirical analysis of these borders in the fields of intensive care and neurological rehabilitation. Within these fields it must be determined whether a body is a living human body or a symbol using human body. The analysis of these elementary border phenomena challenges basic sociological concepts. The relevant contemporary sociological theories refer to a dyadic constellation as the systematic starting point of their concept of sociality. The complex relationship between at least two entities is understood as the basis of the development of a novel order that functions as a mediating structure between the involved parties. Based upon empirical data, I argue that it is necessary to change this foundational assumption. Not the dyad but the triad must be understood as the foundational constellation. This implies a new understanding of the third actor, which is distinct from the concepts developed by Simmel and Berger and Luckmann.     

社会表演理论——在仪式和策略之间建立文化语用学模型（上）

一直以来，对文化的社会研究不是被极端化为结构主义理论就是被极端化为实用主义理论，前者视意义为文本并注重探索提供相对自主性的模式，后者则将意义处理为由个人或集体行动之权变性的创发--即所谓的实践本身，并将文化模式作为权力和物质利益之反应加以分析。在本文中，我将阐述一个超越这种极化视野的文化语用学理论，以新的方式将意义结构、权变性、权力和实质性融为一体。我的论点是，实践的实质性可以由维度更多的表演概念所取代。通过对表演研究这一新领域的成果的吸收，文化语用学说明社会表演，无论个人还是集体的，是如何可能被系统地类推为剧场表演的。在定义了社会表演的要素之后，我认为，随着社会变得更加复杂，这些要素已经趋于“分解”（de fused）。只有在能够将这些日渐离析的要素“再融合”的情况下，表演才会成功。在融合化的表演中，观众认同演员，且文化剧本通过有效的舞台布景达到逼真的程度。而当诸要素重新连接的过程并不完美时,表演就会失败：表演要素仍处于分离状态，社会行动看上去不但不够本真（authentic），而且显得造作和难以令人信服。与此相对，再融合能使演员成功地传达其行动的意义并有效地实现他们的利益。     

What can Social Psychologists Learn from Architecture? The Asylum as Example

In this paper I argue for a stronger consideration of the possible relationship between social psychology and architecture and architectural history. After a brief review of some of the ways in which other social psychologists have sought to develop links between social psychology and history, I consider the utility of architecture in more depth, especially to the social psychologist interested in the development of knowledge and understanding. I argue that, especially when knowledge is institutionalised, the design and use of buildings might have a particular contribution to make to the way we can understand how phenomena have been understood and approached in the past. Although many examples are relevant, I consider the case of the psychiatric hospital (or “asylum”) in more detail.     

Community Organizing for Social Justice: Grassroots Groups for Power

Social justice, community organizing, and task-oriented groups are inextricably connected. Collective action through community organizing can generate the requisite power to overcome unjust social relations and achieve changes that further human rights, participatory democracy, and distributive justice. Most community-organizing work is conducted through task-oriented groups that enable organizational activists to engage directly in collective action for social change. This article presents examples of the use of task groups by a variety of constituencies, in multiple arenas, employing citizen participation, community development, and social action community-organizing approaches and strategies.     

Fairness, Equality and Legitimacy: A Qualitative Comparative Study of Germany and the UK

The pressures of globalization and shifts towards post‐industrialism are producing policies that increasingly emphasize the common themes of activation and of individual responsibility for outcomes. Such approaches suggest normative principles of equality of opportunity rather than of outcome, and of individual rather than collective responsibility for the outcomes achieved. Does this imply a shift towards a common normative framework for European welfare states, with implications for future policy developments? This article reports a recent qualitative study examining ideas about fairness and social provision in the very different regimes of Germany and the UK. The analysis shows that while respondents in both countries value equality of opportunity as a normative principle, those in Germany are much more likely to argue that an equal opportunity approach requires government to guarantee equal access to basic services. They are also more likely to express concerns about market freedoms which allow those who can afford it better access to health care and education. Real differences in welfare values remain, loosely following differences of regime type, despite the greater emphasis on activation and individual responsibility across European welfare states.     

Cultural evolution

In this paper I consider the problem of man's evolution - in particular the evolutionary problems raised when we consider man as a cultural animal as well as a biological one. I argue that any adequate cultural evolutionary theory must have the notion of adaptation as a central concept, where this must be construed in a fairly literal (biological) sense, that is as something which aids its possessors (i.e. men) to survive and reproduce. I argue against theories which treat adaptation in a metaphorical sense, particularly those speaking of the adaptation of cultures without reference to men. Iron tools per se are not better adapted than bronze tools - it is the men with iron tools who are better adapted than men with bronze tools. I show that by taking the approach that I do, one can apply at once in a fruitful manner some conclusions of biological evolutionary theory directly to men and their cultures. I conclude with a brief discussion of methodological issues raised by cultural evolutionary theories, particularly those of confirmation and falsification.     

Managing the tensions between service and advocacy: The case of the AJEEC Social Change Service Organization,Naqab, Israel

The tension between providing services to marginalized groups and organizing them for advocacy to challenge power structures is a fundamental dilemma for Social Change Service Organizations (SCSO). This dilemma exists in many civil society organizations, especially those that work with indigenous communities, such as the Bedouin in Israel, where providing immediate services and advocating for policy change are crucial. Literature shows the tensions that arise from combining service provision and advocacy. However, there are very few studies showing how these organizations manage and overcome these tensions sustainably. The present study is an exploratory case study using the AJEEC (Arab‐Jewish Center for Empowerment, Equality, and Cooperation) in the Naqab as an instrumental single case. It provides an in‐depth understanding of the tensions AJEEC is facing and reveals AJEEC’s unique approach and strategies for managing these tensions effectively and sustainably within the social, political, and cultural contexts. It presents implications for research, policy, and practice.     

The New American Social Work Gospel: Case Management of the Chronically Mentally III

Correspondence to Dr R. A. Cnaan, School of Social Work, University of Pennsylvania, 3701 Locust Walk, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA. Summary Case management is currently the most popular mode of servicedelivery in the United States, especially in community programsfor chronically mentally ill people. Proponents of case managementclaim that it is cost-effective and that it assures provisionof necessary services to clients. In this paper I do not challengeits effectiveness but argue that case management neither empowersclients nor is it free of drawbacks. Given that many countriestend to model the United States, foreign social workers andother human service professionals should first examine the usefulnessof case management vis-à-vis their own cultural and economiccontexts, especially in the light of its many drawbacks.     

Social Objects, Causality and Contingent Realism

This paper is a realist argument for the existence of "social objects". Social objects, I argue, are the outcome states of a contingent causal process and in turn posses causal properties. This argument has consequences for what we can mean by realism and consequences for the development of a realist methodology. Realism should abandon the notion of natural necessity in favour of a view that the "real" nature of the social world is contingent and necessity is only revealed in outcome states. This, I argue, has both theoretical and methodological implications and I develop my argument through two case studies, of homelessness and ethnicity.