The Philosophy of Social Practices: A Collective Acceptance View
Cambridge University Press, 8/21/2008
EAN 9780521039239, ISBN10: 0521039231
Paperback, 288 pages, 22.9 x 15.2 x 1.8 cm
Language: English
This is a systematic philosophical and conceptual study of the notion of a social practice. Raimo Tuomela explains social practices in terms of the interlocking mental states of the agents; he shows how social practices (for example customs and traditions) are 'building blocks of society'; and he offers a clear and powerful account of the way in which social institutions are constructed from these building blocks as established, interconnected sets of social practices with a special new social status. His analysis is based on the novel concept of shared 'we-attitudes', which represent a weak form of collective intentionality, and he makes instructive connections to major topics and figures in philosophy and the social sciences. His book will be of interest to a wide range of readers in philosophy of mind, philosophy of social science, psychology and sociology, and artificial intelligence.
List of figures
Acknowledgements
Introduction
1. Collective intentionality and the construction of the social world
2. Collective intentionality
3. Conceptual activity, rule following and social practices
4. An account of social practices
5. A collective acceptance account of collective-social notions
6. Social institutions
7. Social practices in a dynamic context
a mathematical analysis
Epilogue
Notes
References
Index.