Social Ontology for Political Philosophers

In recent years, social ontologists have developed a rich understanding of the nature of joint and collective agency and applied their results to understanding the possibility of both agential and non-agential groups being responsibility bearers. Since politics is the domain of collective action par excellence one might expect this work to have been taken up in political philosophy. This has happened to a far smaller degree than one might hope. The aim of this workshop is to discuss a range of work in social ontology that we take to be of interest to political philosophers and to advocate for its uptake within political philosophy, broadly construed.

Workshop program

9.15- 9.30          Opening Remarks – Bill Wringe (Bilkent University/York) and Säde Hormio (University of Helsinki/IFFS Stockholm)

9.30-10.45          Kendy Hess (Said Business School, Oxford University & College of the Holy Cross):

The Corporate Archipelago

11.00-12.15        Brian Carey (Durham University):

Credibility and Collective Action: The Importance of Seeming Earnest

12.30-13.30        Working lunch to discuss proposed Northern Network for Social Ontology

13.30-14.30        Leonie Smith (Lancaster University):

                        Collective Agency and Structural Epistemic Injustice

14.45-15.45        Thomas Brouwer (University of Leeds):

                        Social Roles, Equilibrium Theory, and Alienated Participation

16.00 - 17.00      Säde Hormio (University of Helsinki /IFFS Stockholm)

                        Collective Agents as Moral Actors

17.15-17.45 Informal discussion of future collaborative projects and grant applications (AHRC, COST, SAP, ISOS and others tbd)

The workshop will take place in the centre of York (see location details above) and we hope that participants will avail themselves of opportunities for informal socialization after the workshop.