The Relational Subject - Brossura

Donati, Pierpaolo

Brossura

ISBN 10: 1107513952 ISBN 13: 9781107513952

Casa editrice: Cambridge University Press, 2015

Riassunto

Many social theorists now call themselves 'relational sociologists', but mean entirely different things by it. The majority endorse a 'flat ontology', dealing exclusively with dyadic relations. Consequently, they cannot explain the context in which relationships occur or their consequences, except as resultants of endless 'transactions'. This book adopts a different approach which regards 'the relation' itself as an emergent property, with internal causal effects upon its participants and external ones on others. The authors argue that most 'relationists' seem unaware that analytical philosophers, such as Searle, Gilbert and Tuomela, have spent years trying to conceptualize the 'We' as dependent upon shared intentionality. Donati and Archer change the focus away from 'We thinking' and argue that 'We-ness' derives from subjects' reflexive orientations towards the emergent relational 'goods' and 'evils' they themselves generate. Their approach could be called 'relational realism', though they suggest that realists, too, have failed to explore the 'relational subject'.

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Recensione

'The Relational Subject by Pierpaolo Donati and Margaret Archer is something new under the sun ... what Donati and Archer have produced seems to me distinctly new both to standard Western sociology and the standard Western philosophy of social science. The theory articulated in The Relational Subject is certainly distinctly different from the varieties of relational sociology that precede it ...' Douglas V. Porpora, Journal of Critical Realism

Descrizione del libro

Many social theorists now call themselves 'relational sociologists', but mean different things by it. They concentrate mainly on two-person relationships, but the authors of this book argue that the relational 'goods' or 'evils' generated in teams, charities or social movements are different in kind and in their consequences.

Su questa edizione

• Editore: Cambridge University Press
• Data di pubblicazione: 2015
• ISBN 10: 1107513952
• ISBN 13: 9781107513952
• Rilegatura: Copertina flessibile
• Numero di pagine: 360