Collective Intentionality Research Articles

Empowering Collective Intentionality: A Framework for Social Change Through Group Consciousness

Communities face increasingly complex social and technological challenges, and traditional approaches to problem-solving often fall short. We can unlock innovative solutions that transcend individual limitations by tapping into the collective consciousness. The representatives of societies must understand the dynamics of social value creation to initiate social change mechanisms. The framework presented in this article combines insights to guide the process of cultivating group consciousness. It is developed on the foundations of Freudian consciousness and Jung’s idea of collective unconscious and unfolds the formation of group values in respective stages of interactive, collective, and transcendent consciousness.

The Social and the Individual: Reduction without Identity

This paper explores the relationship between social and individual phenomena, advocating for a form of analytical individualism that incorporates both ontological and explanatory holism. The first part of the paper addresses foundational ontological questions, arguing for the reduction of social facts to individual behaviors without equating them in identity. In the second part, the discussion focuses on collective intentionality, particularly through a critical examination of John Searle’s account. I argue that while collective intentionality offers useful insights into the nature of social institutions, it faces principled limitations when applied to broader social phenomena. The paper ultimately supports a non-identifying reductive individualism, which recognizes the social as grounded in individual actions while avoiding simplistic reductions. This approach, I contend, provides a more coherent framework for understanding the complex interaction between individual and social processes, as well as the ontological status of social facts.

A ‘New Social Virtuosity’; A Dissonant Manifest(o)

ABSTRACTThis paper examines the intersection of music, creativity, and society through the lens of a critical and self‐critical appraisal of the here.here concert series; ongoing research‐led collaboration focusing on transdisciplinary approaches to experimental music with a focus on the socio‐politico‐environmental dynamics at play between all involved in a musical encounter. The authors, both academics and composers, contend that experimental music, in its super‐local, interpersonal connections, can challenge the conventional and institutional, serving as an alternative to the homogeneity and self‐centred individualism fostered by capitalist systems. We propose the concept of a ‘new social virtuosity (“social virtuosity” in a music context was coined by Maggie Nicols in the 1970s to describe Feminist Improvising Group and their challenge of the “technological or instrumental elitism”; often dismissed by male musicians. (We came across it through the PhD research of one of our students Maureen Wolloshin),’ viewing the music landscape as a vast terrain where various musical, artistic, and creative directions intersect and converge, transcending presumed binaries. The paper foregrounds the significance of curatorial practice in bridging these differences and harnessing social dissonance, particularly in the context of the capitalist systems which enable these concerts. The authors argue that curation, despite its necessary interplay with these systems, can act as a tool to disrupt and question them. They explore how the act of curation influences social and political dynamics, examining its potential to create new ways of interaction and empowerment. This approach serves as a contrast to those systems that often cause disconnection and isolation. The authors reflect upon three case studies from the last two seasons of the here.here concert series that explicitly focused on the concepts of ‘ventriloquy’ and ‘social virtuosity’ as forms of creative agency: entering into critical dialogue with and giving voice to seminal works (Cage 4′33, Alexander J. Ellis (1814–1890)) for the former and three contemporary pioneers of ‘social virtuosity’—Eva‐Maria Houben—Maggie Nicols and Eddie Prevost for the latter. The concept of ‘social dissonance’ is examined, illustrating how it can be used as a catalyst for creative dialogue and solidarity, while also encouraging a deeper understanding of our shared societal dynamics. Finally, the paper introduces the concept of ‘a new social virtuosity’, emphasising the importance of listening, collaboration, and collective intention in creating a shared musical experience that expands beyond the stage to include the audience. It concludes by examining the performance of 4′33 within this context and underscores the power of dissonance as a tool for creative and critical thinking.

Two kinds of failure in joint action: On disrespect and directed duties

Abstract I identify two kinds of failure in joint action. First, we can fail to ‘do our part’, that is, fail to contribute to fulfilling the joint intention. Second, we can fail to respect our collaborators. Recognizing the distinct natures of both normative relations helps us overcome a key challenge to a reductionist theory of collective intentionality posed by Margaret Gilbert. According to this objection, we have obligations towards others even in immoral joint actions – a claim that was recently supported experimentally. Except for a handful of experimental papers, work on the normativity in joint intention has stagnated. I hope the distinction breathes fresh air into the theoretical and empirical debate.

Collective intentions of the social economy: An experiment on the community currency of the French Basque country

Community currencies (CCs) are common social economy instruments for aligning market transactions with social commitments. They change incentives, encouraging trade within the CC network, but may also symbolize and thereby amplify users’ commitment to social values of solidarity and cooperation. The behavioral effect of the second channel, moreover, is clouded by endogenous use of the CC: commitment encourages use, but does use also trigger commitment? We disentangle the direction of causality with a lab-in-the-field ultimatum game experiment, which confronts participants with a choice between more or less competitive responses. By exogenously varying the currency in which the game is played (CC or euros), we isolate the causal effect of the CC on behavior. Self-declared regular users of the currency are less competitive when playing in the CC than when playing in euros. This is not due to unobserved differences in the individuals, because when playing in euros, their behavior is the same as non-users’. Nor is it due to non-convertibility of the CC, as non-users’ behavior is not affected by the currency. We therefore isolate the CC as a “trigger of cooperativeness” for those who have a base-level of commitment to it.

Collective Intentionality and the Study of Religion. Social Ontology and Empirical Research, by Andrea Rota

Collective Intentionality and the Study of Religion. Social Ontology and Empirical Research, by Andrea Rota

Harnessing Collective Intentionality for Climate Action: An Institutional Perspective on Sustainability

Harnessing Collective Intentionality for Climate Action: An Institutional Perspective on Sustainability

Visioning sustainable futures: Exposure to positive visions increases individual and collective intention to act for a decarbonated world

A key factor for behavioural change, when individuals are already concerned by environmental crises, is individuals’ perception of how they could cope with such an issue in an effective way, as well as their perception of their ability to imagine environmental cognitive alternatives to the behavioural status quo. Is it possible to boost these perceptions through the presentation of positive visions of the future? In this experimental study (N = 300), we tested whether being exposed to positive visions of a decarbonated future influences individuals’ perceived ability to imagine environmental cognitive alternatives as well as their efficacy beliefs, and their intention to engage in climate change mitigation behaviour at an individual and collective level. More precisely, we compared the effects of being exposed to a positive vision focused on either eco-sufficiency or eco-efficiency through green technologies, to achieve the decarbonated world described (including also a control condition). Results confirmed that, regardless of the focus of the positive vision, being exposed to a positive vision is sufficient to increase individuals’ perceived ability to imagine the future, their perceived collective efficacy, and their intention to engage in individual pro-environmental consumption behaviours, technology-use behaviours, and collective behaviours. These findings explore and explain the psychological effects of mere exposure to positive visions on socio-cognitive determinants of behavioural change, which could become an effective strategy to motivate pro-environmental behavioural change in communication and education campaigns.

I, You, and We: Beyond Individualism and Collectivism

ABSTRACT The contemporary debate on collective intentionality in analytic philosophy has lasted several decades, but questions concerning the nature of ‘we’ and the relation between the individual and the community are obviously far older. We can find a particularly rich discussion in early phenomenology. Indeed, while starting out with an interest in the individual mind, phenomenologists began their exploration of dyadic forms of interpersonal relations shortly before the start of World War I and were already deeply engaged in extensive analyses of collective forms of intentionality a few years later. A distinctive feature of the phenomenological contribution was its exploration of the relation between the first- and second-person singular and the first-person plural perspectives. How are I, you, and we intertwined? The aim of this paper is to present some core insights from this early debate.

Quality of Cities’ Networks of Plans and Prospects for Flood Resilience

Urban flood resilience is a function of the collective intent of all planning efforts or network of plans. Yet, most studies focus on single plan types; it is unclear whether plans work cohesively. We asked to what extent do networks of plans uniformly foster resilience to flooding. We adapted plan quality evaluation methodology to evaluate four cities’ networks of plans. All four networks uniformly state goals, including flood resilience and sustainability goals, but exclude details on flood exposure and vulnerability. Moreover, all four networks lack implementation guidelines. We identify opportunities for more integrated planning to tackle flooding and climate change.

How green social network affordances enhance pro‐environmental behaviour?

AbstractThough social media is considered to enhance environmentally conscious behaviour, there has not been sufficient investigation on the effects of specific affordances pertaining to green social networks (GSN). Also, the mechanism by which these affordances affect pro‐environmental behaviour (PEB) has not been explored in depth. Addressing these research gaps, this study first introduces three context‐specific GSN affordances, such as green self‐identification, green broadcasting, and green social endorsement. Further, drawing inspiration from social influence theory and the Stimulus‐Organism‐Response framework, the study put forth a novel framework that explains the varying effects of the conceptualized GSN affordances on PEB through the mediating mechanism of collective intention. The framework also indicates perceived informational and emotional values as moderators that accentuate the indirect influence of GSN affordances on PEB. Adopting a time‐lagged multi‐wave online survey design, 314 valid responses were obtained. The results of the moderated mediation analysis reveal that: (1) collective intention partially mediates the relationships between green broadcasting and PEB, and between green social endorsement and PEB; (2) collective intention fully mediates the relationship between green self‐identification and PEB. Further, the indirect effect of green self‐identification on PEB is positively moderated by emotional values and not moderated by informational values. Interestingly, the indirect effects of green broadcasting and green social endorsement on PEB are positively moderated by both informational and emotional values. These findings offer significant implications for researchers and practitioners who look out for online communities to promote actual PEB.

Joint Attention as the Base of Common Knowledge and Collective Intentionality

I argue that joint attention solves the “base problem” as it arises for Schiffer’s and Lewis’s theories of common knowledge. The problem is that an account is needed of the perceptual base of some forms of common knowledge that gets by without itself invoking common knowledge. The paper solves the problem by developing a theory of joint attention as consisting in the exercise of joint know-how involving particular and sometimes distal targets and arguing that certain joint perceivers can always have a minimal form of propositional common knowledge about the location of these targets. On such a view, perceptual common knowledge is based on the experience of a process that is maintained by way of perceivers’ exercise of an object-involving form of joint know-how. Some reductive theories of collective intentionality require that agents’ intentions and subplans are common knowledge (or “out in the open”) between them. For these theories the base problem arises again. The enacted theory of joint attention can solve the problem. The argument is exactly parallel to the common knowledge case. The openness of joint agents’ intentions and meshing subplans is explained by appeal to their practical knowledge of how to maintain the process by way of which they pursue the collective intention. They can then make this knowledge explicit by linguistic communication. When they succeed in communicating knowledge of their meshing subplans as pursued in a joint action context, they necessarily have this knowledge in common. For theories of collective intentionality that include a common knowledge condition, the experience of participating in a perceptually constituted joint action provides the base that renders harmless the regress that otherwise threatens reductive analyses.

The unity and plurality of sharing

ABSTRACT Many accounts of collective intentionality target rather sophisticated types of cooperative activities, i.e., activities with complex goals that require prior planning and various coordinating and organizing roles. But although joint action is of obvious importance, an investigation of collective intentionality should not merely focus on the question of how we can share agentive intentions. We can act and do things together, but it is not obvious that the awe felt and shared by a group of Egyptologists when they gain entry to a newly discovered pharaonic tomb can or should be analyzed in the same way as, say, a heist that a group of criminals carefully plan and execute together. The aim of the article is to better understand the kind of emotional sharing that can occur between two individuals who are perceptually co-present. Does the sharing involve a kind of phenomenal fusion? Is it a matter of sharing one and the same token experience? It will be argued that both of these recent suggestions must be rejected as misleading in favor of an account that sees emotional sharing as a form of emotional integration that involves constitutively interdependent processes of empathy, second-personal address, and identification.

Social cognition and the origin of concepts in Durkheim's sociology of knowledge

AbstractThis paper re‐examines a key feature of Emile Durkheim's sociology of knowledge from a critical realist perspective. It is argued that Durkheim's attempt to establish a social basis for the categories in The Elementary Forms of Religious Life should be understood along ontological rather than epistemological lines. This brings to light new problems with the argument which, however, can be brought fruitfully into contact with the more recent social psychological literature on collective intentionality. This yields insights into future lines of inquiry into social cognition and theories of human conceptualizing capacities.

We and us: The power of the third for the first‐person plural

AbstractPhenomenological discussions of sociality have long been concerned with the relations between the I, the You, and the We. Recently, dialogue between phenomenology and analytic philosophical work on collective intentionality has given rise to a corpus of literature oriented around the first‐person plural “we.” In this paper, I demonstrate how these dominant accounts of the “we” are not exhaustive of first‐person plural experiences as such. I achieve these aims by arguing for a phenomenological distinction between an experience of being part of a “we” compared to an experience of being part of an “us.” To have a “we‐experience” there must be a plurality of (unified) subjects sharing in an experience together such that the experience has the phenomenal character of being ours. An “us‐experience,” on the other hand, requires the experiential salience of an external “Third” in a way that is constitutively significant. Drawing on Sartrean social ontology, I argue that the “us” is distinct from the “we” on three levels, all of which pertain to the constitutive and unifying role of the Third. I then outline two forms of us‐experiences: (1) the experience of being grouped and (2) the experience of apprehending one's seriality.

Robredo Vs. Marcos’ Presidential Jingles: A Pragmatic Analysis

This study qualitatively analyzed the speech act functions in Philippine political jingles, focusing on the presidential campaign songs "Bagong Lipunan" for Bongbong Marcos and "Kay Leni Tayo" for Leni Robredo. The research delved into the linguistic elements and speech acts employed in these jingles, exploring their role beyond information through content analysis. The chosen jingles, featuring prominent presidential candidates, were selected for their creative merit. The findings unveiled that the select jingles consistently demonstrated a convergence of speech act functions. In locutionary acts, these compositions articulated a rich voice of hope. Regarding illocutionary acts, their collective intention frequently revolved around committing to the promise of a new beginning. The perlocutionary dimension was equally impactful, as the expressions evoked an emotional response, inspiring the audience with hope. The jingles also revealed a nuanced interplay of illocutionary acts, seamlessly blending commissive, assertive, and declarative intentions and strategic use of directive and expressive acts. Examination of linguistic elements, such as metaphors, imagery, rhyme, simile, repetition, and thematic elements like unity and resilience, uncovered a deliberate linguistic strategy to convey persuasive messages and foster positive images of the political figures, ultimately aiming to garner support.

On the social nature of artefacts

AbstractRecent work in metaphysics has focused on the nature of artefacts, most accounts of which assume that artefacts depend on the intentions of their individual makers. Artefacts are thus importantly different from institutional kinds, which involve collective intentions. However, recent work in social ontology has yielded renewed focus on the social dimensions of various kinds, including artefacts. As a result, some philosophers have suggested that artefacts have a distinctly social dimension that goes beyond their makers' individual intentions but which stops short of the collective intentionality of institutional kinds. I aim to combine these insights into an account of artefacts that involves disjunctive conditions of mind‐dependence: Artefacts can either depend on the singular intentions of their makers or they can depend on the collective acceptance of particular social groups. Whether the first or second disjunct is satisfied depends on the artefact's context of creation. I'll argue that this applies not to artefact kinds but to individual artefacts. I then consider two objections to my view based on Robinson Crusoe cases and show how my account allows us to fit artefacts into a taxonomy of social kinds.

Continental Thought in Institutional Economics

I will research some branches of continental thought in institutional economics. I will start with John Searle’s idea of social causation as collective intentionality and (according to my understanding) even more important notion of a background. I will take a continental neo-materialist and economic approach to the subject. I will also read Slavoj Zizek as neo-material economics in continental philosophical way. Furthermore, I will compare Searle’s notions of collective intentionality and the background of the social to Maurizio Ferraris’ notions of text as a replacement for collective intentionality. The problems that Ferraris addresses are understood here in terms of practices. This reading will make space for neo-material developments of economic theory as social theory. I will not directly address Alain Badiou’s neocommunism but will take some notions from neocommunism in general.

Cooperation sustainability in small groups: Exogenous and endogenous dynamics of the sustainability of cooperation

Cooperation sustainability presents a complex social phenomenon. Two common approaches have been used to study the sustainability of cooperation in small groups: endogenous processes (dynamic) and exogenous factors (static approaches). The present study integrates existing research by investigating how the interplay between exogenous and endogenous conditions affects cooperation in small groups. To uncover endogenous group dynamics in an online Public Goods experiment ( n = 353), we performed multilevel latent Markov models on Bayesian estimation that allowed us to estimate latent classes on the level of rounds, individuals, and groups. We studied exogenous factors by investigating the effects of situational tightness versus looseness, and monetary versus symbolic frames on cooperation sustainability. Our key findings show that both endogenous and exogenous factors are critical to explain the variation of cooperation sustainability between groups. Second, groups exposed to tight situations reveal higher levels of cooperation sustainability than groups exposed to loose situations. Money primes did not have an impact. Among the control variables, collective intentionality showed the strongest association with cooperation. Future research may develop a more sophisticated measure of tight versus loose situations and examine the causal relationship between collective intentionality and cooperation.

The Hegemony of a Ruling Party as a Common Element in the Armenian Genocide, the Holodomor and the Holocaust

With the development of comparative genocide as the second generation of genocide studies over the last decades it became important to examine the Holodomor as a crime of genocide committed by the Communist party of the Soviet Union in comparative perspective with other genocides. In this article, the author offers a comparative analysis of the Holodomor with cases of genocide in the first half of the 20th century – namely, the Armenian genocide of the Ottoman Empire and the Holocaust of Nazi Germany – from the perspective of perpetrators (organizers). The author compares the three genocides as crimes under international law in terms of one of the mental elements of genocide that characterizes each of them, noting the similarities in ruling political parties as organizers of those crimes who exercised the collective intent in each of the case of genocide under analyses. The author argues that hegemony of a ruling party: the Ittihadists, the Communists, and the Nazis which substituted the state organization was a common element in the genocides perpetrated in the Ottoman Empire, the Soviet Union, and the Third Reich. Moreover, in the ongoing Russian genocide against the Ukrainian nation with culmination since 24 February 2022, it is again the ruling party – Yedinaya Rosiya (Single Russia) which is the foundation of Russian totalitarian regime that organized this crime of genocide.