The Governing Dynamics of Social Reality
A Unified Theory
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 6431992 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Gustaf Glavå (0000-0002-8919-8601, Department of Psychology University of Gothenburg Gothenburg Sweden, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2025 |
| Volume | 55 |
| Issue | 3 |
| Publication date | 2025-07-25 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Journal for the Theory of Social Behaviour (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0021-8308 • E-ISSN: 1468-5914 |
| Publisher | Wiley (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1111/jtsb.70009 |
| OpenAlex | W4412671077 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 12 |
This paper seeks to describe the fundamental properties of social reality and elucidate the normative behavioural processes constituting these properties. Relying on previous theoretical work on social behaviour and institutions, the paper synthesises key theoretical concepts and put forward a formal expression of these. Social reality is conceptualised as an institutional reality, where normatively based phenomena such as language, cultures and ideologies are considered institutions. These institutions are established through collectively accepted systems of rules, known as status functions. The creation of institutions relies on collective intentionality and brings about deontologies that provide reasons for action independent of personal inclinations. Norm circles are described as the social entities that establish and enforce normative pressure, thereby maintaining status functions. These circles are crucial for the creation and sustenance of institutions, as the rules of institutions lack causal power on their own. Social structures are understood as both the ontologically subjective characteristics internalised by individuals and the epistemically objective phenomena that shape these characteristics. The proposed theory acknowledges the existence of external social structures while addressing critiques of reductionism by highlighting the internalisation of characteristics by individuals
Dynamics (music · Epistemology · Social reality · Social science · Sociology · Critical Realism in Sociology · Philosophy · Psychology
Critical Realism
Making the Social World
The Nature of Social Reality
What is an institution?
The Reality of Social Construction
Four Concepts of Social Structure Douglas V. Porpora
Elder-Vass on the Causal Power of Social Structures
Collective Intentionality and Causal Powers
The difficulty of removing the prejudice
Cultural System or norm circles? An exchange
| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |