Institutions as dispositions: Searle,Smith and the metaphysics of blind chess

This paper addresses the question what the fundamental nature and mode of being of institutional reality is. Besides the recent debate with Tony Lawson, Barry Smith is also one of the relatively few authors to have explicitly challenged John Searle's social ontology on this metaphysical question, with Smith's realism requirement for institutions conflicting with Searle's requirement of a one‐world naturalism. This paper proposes that an account of institutions as powers or dispositions is not only congenial to Searle's general account, but can also satisfy both the realism and the one world requirements. Searle's worry that such a dispositional account is unable to account for the deontic nature of institutions is countered by an appeal to higher‐order powers as well as Searle's notion of the gap and desire‐independent reasons for action.     

Formalism, Behavioral Realism and the Interdisciplinary Challenge in Sociological Theory

In this paper, I argue that recent sociological theory has become increasingly bifurcated into two mutually incompatible styles of theorizing that I label formalist and behavioral-realist. Formalism favors mathematization and proposes an instrumentalist ontology of abstract processes while behavioral-realist theory takes at its basis the "real" physical individual endowed with concrete biological, cognitive and neurophysiological capacities and constraints and attempts to derive the proper conceptualization of social behavior from that basis. Formalism tends to lead toward a conceptually independent sociology that in principle requires only minimal reference to the empirical and ontological storehouse of other disciplines, while behavioral-realist theory leads to an interdisciplinary sociology that can be located within a hierarchy of behavioral sciences, leading to questions regarding the relationship between sociology and other disciplines as well as issues of transdisciplinary unification and possible interdisciplinary reduction. I explore the consequences of this split for the project of explanatory sociological theory within the context of how it has manifested itself in sociological network theory and social psychology. I close with a critique and assessment of formalist tendencies in sociological theorizing.     

怀特海哲学后现代性探源

怀特海的哲学被称为“后现代的”,而且是“另类后现代的”,据柯布说,主要有三大理由：第一,他的认识论认为感官感知并非是首位的;第二,他的本体论认为构成世界的基本单位是实际事态,即点滴的经验,而不是如唯物论所说是无时间、无经验、无自由的基本粒子;第三,他的这些观点立足于坚实的现代科学基础,尤其是量子论.格里芬把怀特海的哲学称为广义经验论,并发展了该哲学,解决了哲学很多长期悬而未决的问题,诸如心-身关系、因果关系、上帝与世界的关系.     

Why some theories fail to describe, explain, and predict: Reconstructing the future

Thomas Kuhn, as a physicist, persuasively discussed theory construction and change as well as pointed out the existence of paradigm shifts. But, constrained by human being's way of perceiving reality and thinking, though scholars and experts can construct theory so as to understand human interactions, they will sooner or later realize that theory often fails to perform satisfactorily. What is the nature or substance of this world and how would the world develop in the future? This article is written from the philosophical and cultural perspectives and suggests a new way of reconstructing the future. By taking human behavior, language, science, philosophy, mathematics, and logic into consideration, the author argues that in this way we would be able to enter into a new world of analyzing phenomena.     

Emergence and Communication in Computational Sociology

Computational sociology models social phenomena using the concepts of emergence and downward causation. However, the theoretical status of these concepts is ambiguous; they suppose too much ontology and are invoked by two opposed sociological interpretations of social reality: the individualistic and the holistic. This paper aims to clarify those concepts and argue in favour of their heuristic value for social simulation. It does so by proposing a link between the concept of emergence and Luhmann's theory of communication. For Luhmann, society emerges from the bottom‐up as communication and he describes the process by which society limits the possible selections of individuals as downward causation. It is argued that this theory is well positioned to overcome some epistemological drawbacks in computational sociology.     

试评吕坤的哲学思想

吕坤是明代商丘著名的思想家,一生独立治学,以理学著当世。其哲学思想兼容并蓄,又学有所宗,在中国哲学史上占有重要的地位。在理气关系这一本体论问题上,他在主张“气本论”的同时,又提出“理”本论,存在着深刻的内在矛盾性。他关于自然、当然和偶然、“续”与“恒”、“常”与“变”、“渐”与“顿”关系的论述,蕴含着极其丰富的辩证法思想。受其世界观矛盾的影响,其认识论存在着反映论与先验论的矛盾。他坚持可知论,认为人是可以通过向外格物来正确认识天地万物的客观世界的。但是,当面对外在的客观世界时,他主张向外格物穷理,是一个反映论者,当涉及到道德认知和修养时,主张向内反求,又成了一个先验论者。在知行问题上坚持“知先行后”、“知行并进”和“行重于知”等观点,强调知行的辩证关系,具有浓厚的思辨色彩,充满了辩证法的卓识。在历史观上主张以民为本,十分重视民的作用,并认为社会历史本身是处于不断的发展变化之中的,主张“因时顺势,皆可变通”。     

On the historicity of social ontology

The question I raise is whether the basic features of mind, social categories, and society are unchanging or changing. Some understandings of ontology would seem to suggest that social ontology is a branch of metaphysics. However, as the history of concepts such as metaphysical and ontology indicate, our concepts and knowledge are historical. It is widely held that society is concept- and activity-dependent. I examine critically two strands of social ontology in terms of their answers to this problematic: (1) John Searle’s theory of the construction of social reality and (2) critical realist theory of mind and society as interlaced emergent layers of reality. Apart from emergence in natural systems, there is also emergence beyond nature as consciousness, agency and society cannot be completely explained in terms of biological realities; but how and when did this emergence occur? We need an account of the emergent order of language, reflectively conscious mind, and institutions not only for its own sake, but also because the process whereby new objects and properties emerge may be on-going, path-dependent, diverse, and open-ended. The main argument is that the object of study of social theorists is geo-historically specific, liable to diversity within any given world-historical epoch, and open to further changes and new forms of emergence in the future.     

A decision theory of clergy political behavior

Studies of clergy political behavior have used one of two empirical lenses to explain clergy actions—ideology and contextual influences. The first lens generally supposes that clergy behave according to their sincerely held preferences; the second takes personal ideology into account, but suggests that clergy are also subject to influence from the environment in which they serve. While both approaches have received adequate attention, there has been no attempt to develop a systematic decision theory outlining when and why clergy might elect to follow their ideological preferences in some cases, and respond to contextual influence in others. This research note proposes a decision theory based on work in the congressional behavior scholarship. It outlines the conditions under which clergy use their sincere preferences and reference group cues to determine their political behavior. It then tests these propositions using data from two national surveys of American clergy.     

The Secret Life of Things: Rethinking Social Ontology

Despite a recent resurgence of interest in social ontology, the standard conceptualization of social/cultural objects reiterates dichotomies such as nature and culture, subjectivity and objectivity: the objective components of a social/cultural environment are usually divided into their (symbolically vacuous) material substratum, natural or manufactured, and their imposed or assigned social import. Inert materiality and subjectively or intersubjectively assigned meanings and functions remain distinct as constitutive aspects of a reality that is intuitively experienced as a whole. In contrast—by means of examining a broad range of natural/cultural entities—I propose an experiential or visceral ontology of the social, which addresses the comprehensive nature of our experience of cultural objects, as well as their perpetual transmutability within the space between nature and culture, objectivity and subjectivity. This perspective allows for a cathexis of meaning in the material constitution of cultural entities—in contrast to a mere imposition of detachable layers of meaning—and suggests a reconsideration of our unexamined perception of social/political action as editorial supervision and correction. Moreover, I point out the centrality of the concept of practice for recovering the lived sense of social things, since practice, by virtue of its inalienable informality, constitutes the field of Protean renewal of this sense. I understand my approach as complementary to the body-turn in contemporary social theory, since I extend the postulation of meaningfulness in the objective aspect of subjective existence (i.e. the body) towards its lived surroundings, which are here perceived as engaged in a process of meaningful practiced reciprocations with corporeal subjectivities.     

Social work, social networks and network knowledge

Summary The claim that there is something distinctive about the kindof knowledge associated with social work research is investigated.When three tests of distinctiveness are applied it emerges thatthe only way in which this claim can be upheld is by referenceto a prior claim to ontological distinctiveness. The natureof this distinctive ontology is explored using an image of linksand interdependencies. It is argued that complexity is integralto both the world of social work practice and the process ofdoing social work research. Alternative conceptions of complexityin the physical and social sciences are discussed but it issuggested that social work research needs its own concept of'network knowledge' if it is to deliver understandings of complexityrelevant to the world in which it exists. Finally, the extentto which network knowledge is networked knowledge, collectivelyowned and produced is examined. The article concludes that bylinking the concept of knowledge to the process of knowledgecreation, what emerges is not only a distinctive research paradigmbut also a way of rebuilding a concept of professional unityand purpose in social work education.     

Environmentally Responsible Behavior: Teaching and Promoting It Effectively

The most serious long-term threat facing the world is the danger that human actions are producing irreversible harmful changes to the environmental conditions that support life on Earth. If this problem is not overcome, there may be no viable world for our descendants to inhabit. Enormous changes to human lifestyles and cultural practices may be required to reach the goal of a sustainable level of impact on the environment—i.e., one that can be maintained indefinitely. Social science courses can aid in reaching this goal by teaching about environmentally responsible behavior. Such teaching should provide sound information and strengthen motivation and behavioral skills that are necessary to make the needed changes in behavior and lifestyles. This paper discusses major obstacles to the goal of sustainability, describes a variety of motivational approaches toward accomplishing it, and proposes that we should view the achievement of sustainable living patterns as a superordinate goal—a war against the common enemy of an uninhabitable world.     

汉代《老子》政治观的黄老色彩（二）——以《老子河上公注》为中心

和《老子指归》一样,《老子河上公注》也是现存汉代最重要和对后代影响最大的老子注本之一。从老学史的角度看,《老子河上公注》无论是宇宙观还是养生观和政治观,都反映了鲜明的汉代黄老思想的特点,体现了老学发展的时代特征。具体到政治观上,则主要体现在作品以君主为说教对象,提出明理身理国之道以及因循无为的主张等方面。     

Finding Bhaskar in all the wrong places? Causation,process, and structure in Bhaskar and Deleuze

This article examines the reception of Roy Bhaskar amongst some contemporary Deleuzians. It proceeds by rejecting the all too often predilection of opposing realism to ‘postmodernism’ or ‘post‐structuralism’ arguing instead for the need to bring one into dialogue with the other. To this end, the paper explores the resonances and points of departure between the work of Gilles Deleuze and Roy Bhaskar. In particular, it examines the language of causation, object‐oriented versus process‐oriented ontologies, as well as the charge by Deleuzians that Bhaskar is an essentialist. Through this engagement it attempts to develop and rethink explanation and causation in terms of a more chaotic ontology of machines, centered around the concept of structure, process, and production in an open, heterogeneous, and dynamic world. The end result is a more chaotic concept of realism.     

Toward a theory of myth

James Cresswell provides a thoughtful critique of my essay on a theory of myth (Mills) with a specific focus on the nature of theorizing that challenges the dogma of empirical frames of reference, concluding that scientific theories themselves are contemporary myths. Insofar as myth is an attempt to provide a narrative or discourse about phenomena, Cresswell's argument could apply to any theory. But he takes this point further: theory is synonymous with myth. In order to unpack this evocative claim, it may prove useful to revisit how theory and myth relate to the concepts of logos, truth, ontology and identity. In the end, I suggest theory is not myth because theory sets out to describe, interpret and explain phenomena and is scrutinized for its validity, generalizability and applied consequences, while the premises of myth are often historically and culturally presupposed or simply devolve into belief that may or may not be defensible.     

Human rights,cultural practices,and state policies: Implications for global social work practice and policy

Effective practice in a global world requires knowledge and understanding of diverse cultures. Most social workers around the world are committed to values and policies that enhance the well‐being of especially vulnerable populations and that protect their human rights. However, not all cultural practices or policies place the same value on human rights and the protection of vulnerable populations, a situation that may result in conflicts for social workers, who have an ethical obligation to advocate for human rights as well as to be sensitive to their clients' cultural contexts. Based on multidisciplinary research and contemporary examples of gender discrimination, forced marriages, child labor, and female genital mutilation, this article proposes resolutions to this conflict. It concludes by suggesting practices and policies that might help social workers to strike an effective balance between cultural diversity and the promotion of human rights. Key Practitioner Message: ● Social workers are best placed to understand individuals and communities within their various cultural contexts; ● Social work practice and policy should be sensitive to cultural practices that may undermine human rights and the well‐being of vulnerable populations; ● Guided by professional values and ethics, social workers can assume the roles of educator and advocate in enhancing the rights of individuals.     

The Impossibility of Naturalism: The Antinomies of Bhaskar's Realism

From the publication of The Possibility of Naturalism, Bhaskar's critical naturalism or realism has argued for a dualistic social ontology of interpreting individuals and objective, 'real' social structures. In arguing for a dualistic ontology, Bhaskar commits himself to two antinomies; he insists that society is dependent on individuals but also independent of them, and that social action is always intentional but it also has non-intentional, material features. These antinomies are apparently resolved by appeals to emergence. In fact, the appeal to emergence is merely a disguised regression into reification and the only genuine path out of these antinomies is the adoption of a fully hermeneutic social theory in line with the positions of Winch and Gadamer.     

Relations between Theory of Mind and Indirect and Physical Aggression in Kindergarten: Evidence of the Moderating Role of Prosocial Behaviors

The present study examined the association between theory of mind and indirect versus physical aggression, as well as the potential moderating role of prosocial behavior in this context. Participants were 399 twins and singletons drawn from two longitudinal studies in Canada. At five years of age, children completed a theory of mind task and a receptive vocabulary task. A year later, teachers evaluated children's indirect and physical aggression and prosocial behavior. Indirect aggression was significantly and positively associated with theory of mind skills, but only in children with average or low levels of prosocial behavior. Physical aggression was negatively associated with prosocial behavior but not with theory of mind. Each analysis included gender, receptive vocabulary, and the respective other subtype of aggression as control variables. These results did not differ between girls and boys or between twins and singletons. Theoretical and clinical implications of these findings are discussed.     

The Historical Forms of Materialism and the Philosophical Domain of Historical Materialism

Natural materialism, humanistic materialism and historical materialism are the three historical forms of materialism. The “material” in historical materialism is a social thing which is “perceptible and imperceptible by the senses” and connotes social relations; and the “history” in historical materialism is the realm in which contradictions between man and nature and between man and society are able to unfold, so historical materialism is “actually a critical view of the world” that inherently contains dialectics in a “rational form.” The formulation of historical materialism opened a new path for the development of materialism and even philosophy as a whole. In the course of its critique of capitalist society, which unfolds with capital as a core category, historical materialism sublates abstract existence and discovers real social existence, thus putting an end to metaphysics, which is grounded in abstract ontology.     

On the Link between Academia and the Practice of Social Work

The dualism of knowledge and values as well as of the objective and the subjective views has accompanied the social work profession from its inception and presents a particular dilemma for the link between academia and practice. It is either that academia is split off from the practice of social work, or that these two fields of professional activity merge into each other. Either of these solutions impoverishes the profession. The key for the understanding of this dilemma as well as its resolution rests with the particular ontological definitions adhered to by the profession. It is proposed that by fostering the moral ontology the dualism inherent in the nature of the profession may enrich it and a fruitful link between academia and the practice of social work will evolve. The arguments presented as well as the resolution proposed are illustrated by theoretical explanations, empirical studies and clinical practice in the area of the parent-infant relationship.     

西方解释学的历史演进及其最新发展

施莱尔马赫把解释学引进哲学,使解释学成为一种普遍的解释工具和方法论,其缺陷在于忽略了理解内容中所包含的真理,把理解活动看作原作者意图的重构,看作一种客观的静止的认识活动,从而陷入笛卡尔式的二元对立之中。狄尔泰认为精神科学共同建立在人内心的体验的基础上,因而比自然科学更有理由成为一种科学,解释是我们把握精神世界的必要程序和方法;但他天真地抱有历史客观主义的想法,忘记了理解精神客观化存在的人本身的历史性,成为一种秘密的实证主义。海德格尔使解释学经历了一场真正的本体论转向,他认为人的本质就是生存,生存中必有领会,此在具有前理解和解释学循环的生存论结构。伽达默尔在海德格尔的基础上进一步总结了哲学解释学的基本特征,形成了作为本体论的哲学解释学。伽达默尔之后,哈贝马斯进一步发展了解释学理论,形成了一种批判解释学或者叫做深层解释学。