Social mereology

Work on this paper was supported by a Leverhulme Major Research Fellowship.What kind of entity is a committee, a book group, or a band? I argue that committees and other such social groups are concrete, composite particulars, having ordinary human beings among their parts. Thus, the committee members are literally parts of the committee. This mereological view of social groups was popular several decades ago but fell out of favor following influential objections from David-Hillel Ruben. Recent years have seen a tidal wave of work in metaphysics, including the metaphysics of parts and wholes. We now have the resources to rehabilitate the mereological view of social groups. I show how this can be done and why we should bother.PostprintPeer reviewe

Coercion and lies

Can we be coerced into lying? Or does the very fact of coercion undercut the possibility of making an assertion? Through discussion of capitulations and other forms of coerced speech, this chapter explores the ways in which apparent assertions may be drained of standard normative significance, and thus excluded from the category of lies. Coerced pseudo-assertions are in this way similar to coerced pseudo-promises, and to coerced pseudo-gifts, neither of which have the standard normative significance associated with genuine promises and gifts. Nevertheless, our speech and actions under coercion are liable to moral evaluation, and coercion does not always make it permissible to speak falsely or attempt to mislead an audience.Postprin

Social science as a guide to social metaphysics?

Work on this paper was supported by a Major Research Fellowship from the Leverhulme Trust.If we are sympathetic to the project of naturalising metaphysics, how should we approach the metaphysics of the social world? What role can the social sciences play in metaphysical investigation? In the light of these questions, this paper examines three possible approaches to social metaphysics: inference to the best explanation from current social science, conceptual analysis, and Haslanger-inspired ameliorative projects.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe

Almost identical, almost innocent

In his 1991 book, Parts of Classes, David Lewis discusses the idea that composition is identity, alongside the idea that mereological overlap is a form of partial identity. But this notion of partial identity does nothing to help Lewis achieve his goals in that book. So why does he mention it? I explore and resolve this puzzle, by comparing Parts of Classes with Lewis’s invocation of partial identity in his 1993 paper ‘Many But Almost One’, where he uses it to address Unger’s problem of the many. I raise some concerns about this way of thinking of partial identity, but conclude that, for Lewis, it is an important defence against accusations of ontological profligacy.PostprintNon peer reviewe

What is impostor syndrome?

People are described as suffering from impostor syndrome when they feel that their external markers of success are unwarranted, and fear being revealed as a fraud. Impostor syndrome is commonly framed as a troubling individual pathology, to be overcome through self-help strategies or therapy. But in many situations an individual’s impostor attitudes can be epistemically justified, even if they are factually mistaken: hostile social environments can create epistemic obstacles to self-knowledge. The concept of impostor syndrome prevalent in popular culture needs greater critical scrutiny, as does its source, the concept of impostor phenomenon which features in psychological research.PostprintNon peer reviewe

Comments on Ontology Made Easy by Amie Thomasson

PostprintNon peer reviewe

Comments on Brian Epstein's The Ant Trap

The Ant Trap is a terrific book, which opens up new opportunities to use philosophical methods in the social realm, by drawing on the tools and techniques of contemporary metaphysics. Epstein uses concepts of dependence, constitution, and grounding, of parts and whole, of membership and kindhood, both to clarify existing accounts of social reality and to develop an account of his own. Whilst I admire the general strategy, I take issue with some aspects of Epstein’s implementation, notably his distinction between grounding and anchoring. I recommend that he give up this distinction, which is not crucial to his project.PostprintNon peer reviewe

Trust, distrust and epistemic injustice

This chapter was written during leave supported by a Leverhulme Major Research Fellowship.PostprintPeer reviewe

Trustworthy groups and organisations

Beyond philosophy, discussions of trust and trustworthiness often concern collective entities such as corporations, states, and social groups. But much philosophical work takes trust in an individual person as paradigmatic, distinguishing such trust from mere reliance. This chapter explores the distinction between trustworthiness and mere reliability as it applies to collectives, arguing that the distinction does not have the same significance as it has in the individual case.Postprin