Social Kinds, Reference, and Meta-Ontological Revisionism
Julian Dodd has characterized the default position in metaphysics as meta-ontologically realist: the answers to first-order ontological questions are thought to be entirely independent of the things we say and think about the entities at issue. Consequently, folk ontologies are liable to substantial...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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University of Vienna
2019-04-01
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| Series: | Journal of Social Ontology |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1515/jso-2018-0013 |
| _version_ | 1797707077154504704 |
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| author | Xhignesse Michel-Antoine |
| author_facet | Xhignesse Michel-Antoine |
| author_sort | Xhignesse Michel-Antoine |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Julian Dodd has characterized the default position in metaphysics as meta-ontologically realist: the answers to first-order ontological questions are thought to be entirely independent of the things we say and think about the entities at issue. Consequently, folk ontologies are liable to substantial error. But while this epistemic humility is commendable where the ontology of natural kinds is concerned, it seems misplaced with respect to social kinds since their ontology is dependent upon the human social world. Using art and art-kinds as paradigmatic examples of social kinds, I argue that meta-ontological realism sets conditions that are too strict to apply to social kinds. Nevertheless, I argue that we should not be too quick to embrace the conclusion that our folk theories of social kinds cannot err substantially. By modelling the reference of social kind-terms on that of natural kind-terms, it becomes clear that in both cases, our sole epistemic privilege lies in our ability to pinpoint the subject of our inquiries. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-12T06:02:06Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-bed2289359d7479d9222538dee15b840 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2196-9655 2196-9663 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-12T06:02:06Z |
| publishDate | 2019-04-01 |
| publisher | University of Vienna |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Journal of Social Ontology |
| spelling | doaj.art-bed2289359d7479d9222538dee15b8402023-09-03T04:06:14ZengUniversity of ViennaJournal of Social Ontology2196-96552196-96632019-04-014213715610.1515/jso-2018-0013jso-2018-0013Social Kinds, Reference, and Meta-Ontological RevisionismXhignesse Michel-Antoine0Department of Philosophy, University of British Columbia, 1866 Main Mall, Buchanan E370, Vancouver, CanadaJulian Dodd has characterized the default position in metaphysics as meta-ontologically realist: the answers to first-order ontological questions are thought to be entirely independent of the things we say and think about the entities at issue. Consequently, folk ontologies are liable to substantial error. But while this epistemic humility is commendable where the ontology of natural kinds is concerned, it seems misplaced with respect to social kinds since their ontology is dependent upon the human social world. Using art and art-kinds as paradigmatic examples of social kinds, I argue that meta-ontological realism sets conditions that are too strict to apply to social kinds. Nevertheless, I argue that we should not be too quick to embrace the conclusion that our folk theories of social kinds cannot err substantially. By modelling the reference of social kind-terms on that of natural kind-terms, it becomes clear that in both cases, our sole epistemic privilege lies in our ability to pinpoint the subject of our inquiries.https://doi.org/10.1515/jso-2018-0013art-kindsnatural kindsreferencefolk-theoretic modestyrevisionismdescriptivismsocial kindsmeta-ontological realism |
| spellingShingle | Xhignesse Michel-Antoine Social Kinds, Reference, and Meta-Ontological Revisionism Journal of Social Ontology art-kinds natural kinds reference folk-theoretic modesty revisionism descriptivism social kinds meta-ontological realism |
| title | Social Kinds, Reference, and Meta-Ontological Revisionism |
| title_full | Social Kinds, Reference, and Meta-Ontological Revisionism |
| title_fullStr | Social Kinds, Reference, and Meta-Ontological Revisionism |
| title_full_unstemmed | Social Kinds, Reference, and Meta-Ontological Revisionism |
| title_short | Social Kinds, Reference, and Meta-Ontological Revisionism |
| title_sort | social kinds reference and meta ontological revisionism |
| topic | art-kinds natural kinds reference folk-theoretic modesty revisionism descriptivism social kinds meta-ontological realism |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1515/jso-2018-0013 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT xhignessemichelantoine socialkindsreferenceandmetaontologicalrevisionism |