The Relational Subject

360 Pages·2015·3.47 MB·English

by  Pierpaolo Donati

The Relational Subject
More and more social theorists are now calling themselves ‘Relational
Sociologists’, but they mean entirely different things by this term. It can
coveranythingfromreductionistmethodologicalindividualismtoaform
ofholisticsociologicalimperialismthatdeemsallourrelationstobeexclu-
sively ‘social’. The majority, however, endorse a ‘flat ontology’, dealing
exclusively with dyadic relations. Consequently, they cannot explain the
contextinwhichrelationshipsoccurdespitetherebeingnosuchthingas
context-lessaction.Italsomeansthattheoutcomesofrelationalitycanbe
explained only as the result of an endless series of ‘transactions’, whose
aggregationwouldsomehowaccountforsocialstabilityandchange.The
approach of this book is quite different, in regarding ‘the relation’ itself
asanemergentproperty,withinternalcausaleffectsuponitsparticipants
and external ones on others. A second difference is that many of these
‘Relationists’ appear unaware that analytical philosophers, such as John
Searle, Margaret Gilbert, and Raimo Tuomela, have spent twenty years
trying to vindicate a concept of the ‘We’ that gives rise to commitment,
cooperation,andcollectiveaction;onethatalsogeneratesdeonticrights:
obligations, rights, and duties. Uniformly, they have worked on differ-
ent versions of shared intentionality. In this book, however, ‘We-ness’ is
held to derive from subjects’ reflexive orientations towards the emergent
relational ‘goods’ and ‘evils’ they themselves generate – then affecting
theiractionsinacouple,aworkgroup,sport’steam,orchestra,voluntary
associationorsocialmovement.Bothauthorscouldbecalled‘Relational
Realists’, but we have something to offer to Realism too, which, despite
itshumanism,hasfailedtoexplorethe‘RelationalSubject’.
pierpaolo donatiisProfessorofSociologyandDirectoroftheCentre
ofStudiesonSocialInnovation(CESIS)attheUniversityofBologna,Italy.
margaret s. archer is Professor of Sociology and Director of the
CentreforSocialOntologyattheUniversityofWarwick.

The Relational Subject
pierpaolo donati and margaret s. archer
UniversityPrintingHouse,CambridgeCB28BS,UnitedKingdom
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(cid:2)C PierpaoloDonatiandMargaretS.Archer2015
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Firstpublished2015
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AcataloguerecordforthispublicationisavailablefromtheBritishLibrary
LibraryofCongressCataloguinginPublicationdata
Donati,Pierpaolo,1946–
Therelationalsubject/PierpaoloDonatiandMargaretS.Archer.
pages cm
Includesbibliographicalreferencesandindex.
ISBN978-1-107-10611-6(hardback)–ISBN978-1-107-51395-2(paperback)
1.Intergrouprelations. 2.Interpersonalrelations. 3.Socialinteraction.
4.Sociology. I.Archer,MargaretScotford. II.Title.
HM716.D66 2015
301–dc23 2015001681
ISBN978-1-107-10611-6Hardback
ISBN978-1-107-51395-2Paperback
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To all those who by pursuing mutual concern and
reciprocity, generate relational goods for the
flourishing of a new civil society

Contents
Listoffigures pageix
Acknowledgements xi
PartI
1 Introduction:RelationalSociology:reflexiveandrealist 3
pierpaolo donati and margaret s. archer
2 ThePluralSubjectversustheRelationalSubject 33
margaret s. archer and pierpaolo donati
PartII
Prologue:ThesourcesofRelationalSubjectsand
theirresources 79
3 TheRelationalSubjectandtheperson:self,agent,
andactor 85
margaret s. archer
4 SocializationasRelationalReflexivity 123
margaret s. archer
5 CulturalreproachestoRelationistSociology 155
margaret s. archer
PartIII
Prologue:TherangeofRelationalSubjects:whereand
howtheyemerge 183
6 WhenRelationalSubjectsgeneraterelationalgoods 198
pierpaolo donati
vii
viii Contents
7 TheemergenceofcollectiveRelationalSubjectsandtheir
societalimpact:beyondthemarket/statebinarycode 229
pierpaolo donati
8 RelationalSubjectsandtheravagesofglobalizedmarkets:
theneedforsubjectswithrelationalethics 263
pierpaolo donati
9 Conclusions:Collectivesubjectsandtheaddedvalueof
socialrelations 301
pierpaolo donati and margaret s. archer
Index 332
Figures
2.1 TheWe-relation(relationalgood)ofacouple page71
3.1 Threekindsofrelationswithnaturalrealityandtheir
resultanttypesofknowledge 95
3.2 RelationalphasesoftheSelf 103
3.3 Alife-longtask:themakingofaPerson 104
3.4 RelationalReflexivityentailstheThirdinthedepartment 110
3.5 ThestratifiedontologicaldevelopmentofthehumanPerson 111
3.6 Themorphogeneticelaborationofpersonaland
socialidentities 113
3.7 Thedevelopmentofthestratifiedhumanbeing 114
4.1 WherestudentsstandontheDDDschemeatpointofentry 139
4.2 Familyrelationalgoodsandnecessaryselection 144
4.3 Emily’sinabilitytoShapeaLifeasanundergraduate 151
5.1 LogicalandcausalrelationswithinCulture 167
5.2 Culturalmorphogenesis 168
P.1 AmapofRelationalSubjects:theprobability(p)ofthere
beingRelationalSubjects 184
P.2 TheRelationalSubjectatthemeso-level 189
6.1 Thefourfundamentaltypesofgoodsproducedinsociety 210
6.2 Fourareasofsocialrelationsdifferentiatedonthebasisof
degreesofactors’freedomandthetypeofgoodproduced 218
6.3 TheplacementofRelationalSubjectsamongthefour
fundamentaltypesofsocialsubjects 220
7.1 Lib/labsystems’economiclogic(anevolutionarymodel,
supposedlybringing‘progress’) 236
7.2 Theeconomiclogicofarelationalsociety 241
7.3 Twoparadigmaticformsofeconomy 245
7.4 Thenewconfigurationofafter-modernsociety 247
8.1 Asociologicalframeworkfortheissue 279
8.2 Themorphogeneticcycleofmoralresponsibility 285
ix