Being social, being socially constructed, and being fundamental relative to social reality

Although the properties of being social and of being socially constructed are indispensable to our understanding of social reality, social metaphysicians are unclear about how they're related. In this paper, I argue that whereas everything that's socially constructed is also social, not everything that's social is also socially constructed. In particular, I argue that something is what I call "fundamental relative to social reality," something that's social but not also socially constructed. I sketch an account of fundamentality relative to social reality, and argue that it both clarifies how the properties of being social and of being socially constructed are related, and captures their significance for our understanding of social reality per se.

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Publication Details

Journal
Philosophical Studies
Published
2025-11-28
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/s11098-025-02446-1
Primary Topic
Embodied and Extended Cognition
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
0.00

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article

Being social, being socially constructed, and being fundamental relative to social reality

Emilie Pagano
Philosophical Studies
Embodied and Extended Cognition
article

Being social, being socially constructed, and being fundamental relative to social reality

Emilie Pagano
article en

Abstract

Although the properties of being social and of being socially constructed are indispensable to our understanding of social reality, social metaphysicians are unclear about how they're related. In this paper, I argue that whereas everything that's socially constructed is also social, not everything that's social is also socially constructed. In particular, I argue that something is what I call "fundamental relative to social reality," something that's social but not also socially constructed. I sketch an account of fundamentality relative to social reality, and argue that it both clarifies how the properties of being social and of being socially constructed are related, and captures their significance for our understanding of social reality per se.

Philosophical StudiesVol. 183(1)
Binghamton University (US)
Austrian Science Fund
Openalex Percentile: Top 63%
Embodied and Extended Cognition
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