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Elder-Vass on the Causal Power of Social Structures

Hansson Wahlberg, Tobias LU (2014) In Philosophy of the Social Sciences 44(6). p.774-791
Abstract
In this review essay I examine the central tenets of sociologist Dave Elder-Vass’s recent contribution to social ontology, as put forth in his book The Causal Power of Social Structures: Emergence, Structure and Agency (2010). Elder-Vass takes issue with ontological individualists and maintains that social structures exist and have causal powers in their own right. I argue that he fails to establish his main theses: he shows neither that social structures have causal powers “in their own right” (in any sense of this expression) nor that they exist.
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
causal power, critical realism, emergence, mereology, ontological individualism, social ontology, structure
in
Philosophy of the Social Sciences
volume
44
issue
6
pages
774 - 791
publisher
SAGE Publications
external identifiers
  • wos:000344683900004
  • scopus:84908512562
ISSN
0048-3931
DOI
10.1177/0048393113500213
project
Social Ontology and Theories of Persistence
Metaphysics and Collectivity
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
a1e1894d-3dd1-4cd1-868d-8b956a41a5a2 (old id 4006495)
alternative location
http://pos.sagepub.com/content/44/6/774.full.pdf+html
date added to LUP
2016-04-01 09:50:25
date last changed
2022-01-25 17:13:02
@article{a1e1894d-3dd1-4cd1-868d-8b956a41a5a2,
  abstract     = {{In this review essay I examine the central tenets of sociologist Dave Elder-Vass’s recent contribution to social ontology, as put forth in his book The Causal Power of Social Structures: Emergence, Structure and Agency (2010). Elder-Vass takes issue with ontological individualists and maintains that social structures exist and have causal powers in their own right. I argue that he fails to establish his main theses: he shows neither that social structures have causal powers “in their own right” (in any sense of this expression) nor that they exist.}},
  author       = {{Hansson Wahlberg, Tobias}},
  issn         = {{0048-3931}},
  keywords     = {{causal power; critical realism; emergence; mereology; ontological individualism; social ontology; structure}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{6}},
  pages        = {{774--791}},
  publisher    = {{SAGE Publications}},
  series       = {{Philosophy of the Social Sciences}},
  title        = {{Elder-Vass on the Causal Power of Social Structures}},
  url          = {{https://lup.lub.lu.se/search/files/1304165/4612198.pdf}},
  doi          = {{10.1177/0048393113500213}},
  volume       = {{44}},
  year         = {{2014}},
}