Social Ontology and Phenomenology by Spiegel, Thomas J.;

Short description:

This volume brings together scholars from the phenomenological tradition to address questions regarding the relation of social ontology and phenomenology. It makes the case that phenomenology’s methodological emphasis on subjectivity can contribute to debates in social ontology.

Long description:

This volume brings together leading scholars from the phenomenological tradition to address questions regarding the relation of social ontology and phenomenology.

There is a longstanding suspicion in analytic philosophy that phenomenology cannot contribute to our understanding of social relations, dynamics, and institutions. The main reason for this suspicion lies in phenomenology’s first-person perspective, whereas work on social reality in the analytic tradition tends to proceed from an outside, third-person standpoint. This volume makes the case that phenomenology’s methodological emphasis on subjectivity and intersubjectivity can contribute to debates in social ontology. The chapters are divided into two thematic parts. Part 1 offers different broad methodological reflections on thinking about the social world from a phenomenological standpoint in general. Part 2 picks out different aspects of the social world to reflect on the question what specifically phenomenological approaches to these aspects have to offer. These chapters explore topics such as dignity, emotions, psychopathology, sexism, social norms, and trust.

Social Ontology and Phenomenology will be of interest to philosophers working in phenomenology, social ontology, and social philosophy.

"This book presents a welcome addition to discussions of social ontology. By discussing directly how phenomenological approaches might differ methodologically and exploring some applications thereof, it further demonstrates the value phenomenologists bring to these discussions for those outside the tradition."

Eric Chelstrom, St. Mary’s University, Texas, USA 

Table of Contents:

Introduction Thomas J. Spiegel  Part 1: General Reflections   1. Social Ontology and the Indispensability of Experience Nicolai Knudsen   2. Fundamental Social Ontology and the Phenomenological Tradition Hans Bernhard Schmid 3. Social Ontology and Phenomenology – Towards a Hybrid Approach. A Meditation with Gerda Walther Sebastian Luft   4. What is Value Experience? Discovering What Matters Roberta De Monticelli   5. The Deep Structural Normativity of the Anonymous: Husserl and Heidegger on Everyday Social Life Dermot Moran Part 2: Aspects of the Social World  6. Which Realism for Social Constructionists? Arto Laitinen & David P. Schweikard 7. Social Norms as the Subject of Phenomenology Karl Mertens   8. Seriality and Embodiment: On the Collectivity of Gender vis-à-vi Social Class and Ethnicity Sara Heinämaa   9. First-Person Experience and Social Constructivism in Dementia Research. An Embodied Phenomenological Perspective on Dementia and Vulnerability Christian Tewes   10. When is an Affective State Hostile? Ingrid Vendrell Ferran   11. Collective Emotions. Probing the Intersection of Phenomenology and Analytic Philosophy  Linas Tranas and Thiemo Breyer 12. The Hobbesian Brainwash: Fundamental Trust and Active Trust Thomas J. Spiegel   13. Lived Normative Know-How: in Search of the Heart of a We Patrizio Lo Presti. Index