Graduate school - course 21.-22.10. 2013

(open for advanced students).

Groups, organizations, conventions, social roles, conflicts and cooperation are no less real than physical particles and mental attitudes. Social ontology examines what kind of objects, relations, properties and events they are, and how they relate to mind and matter. It also covers issues of collective action, intentionality, emotions, and reasoning, as well as the fundamental nature of sociality. Social ontology is a relatively new, but rapidly evolving field of research devoted to the analysis of the basic structures of the social world. The phenomena it covers range from small-scale everyday interactions to encompassing societal institutions, from unintended consequences to institutional design. The unifying element is its focus on the basic constitution of these phenomena. The field of social ontology blends a well-defined approach to social phenomena with a wide scope that extends well beyond the boundaries of philosophy into the other humanities and the various social sciences.

The course will consist of lectures (12 hours in total) addressing the central contemporary debates in the field.

DAY ONE 21.10.2013 10 - 18 PINNI A LS A3111

1. Introduction: social ontology as a subfield of philosophy

2. Collective intentionality - approach Incl. John Searle's approach to social ontology - critical assessments

3. Game theory: institutions as equilibria

DAY TWO 22.10.2013 10 - 18 PÄÄTALO LS A2A

4. Phenomenological approach to social ontology

5. The approach from contemporary metaphysics: the notion of 'constitution'

6. Issues in practical philosophy: e.g. social freedom, political obligation, collective evil, terrorism

The intensive course includes 12 hours of lectures. No preliminary reading required, a reading list provided for further essays and more credits.

Credits by active participation and a lecture diary (2 ects). An essay based on further reading plus a lecture diary (5 ects).

[Preceding the conference European Network for Social Ontology, ENSO III, Helsinki 23.-25.10.2013]

further info: arto.laitinen@uta.fi