Periodic Reporting for period 2 - WE (Who are we? Self-identity, Social Cognition, and Collective Intentionality)
Periodo di rendicontazione: 2021-07-01 al 2022-12-31
• How is the we related to the self?
• What does the fact that one can adopt a we-perspective tell us about the fluid character of selfhood?
• What type of social cognition is required in order to identify with and share a perspective with others?
• What kinds of interpersonal relations are at play in different we-formations?
• What is the relation between a transient we and a persisting we, and between a we that connects particular individuals who are known to each other, and a we that involves identification with a more anonymous and impersonal group?
The working hypothesis of WE is that a systematic account of the we must be embedded in a more comprehensive investigation of selfhood and social cognition. This hypothesis draws inspiration from and will engage with seminal contributions by figures in classical phenomenology.
The project will combine systematic theorizing with historical scholarship, and will challenge existing disciplinary boundaries by interweaving work on self-identity, social cognition, and collective intentionality. It will break new theoretical ground by developing a systematically convincing, phenomenologically valid, and empirically relevant account of the complex interrelation between the we, the you, and the I. In doing so, it will offer a clarification of foundational issues in the humanities and social sciences, and facilitate a much-needed cross fertilization between philosophy and theoretical considerations in the social sciences.
Given the recent upsurge of ethno-nationalism and identity thinking, a renewed critical reflection on the ontological and epistemological status of the we is of urgent societal significance.
Another set of publications have focused on different forms of social interaction and has explored the role of dyadic joint attention, communication and the I-you relation for the emergence of a we-perspective. It has been argued that second-personal relations are characterized by a distinctive form of communicative reciprocity, and that such communicative connectedness is crucial for a basic form of community building.
Both sets of publications have adopted and profited from an inclusive and pluralistic methodology, where ideas found in classical philosophical texts from the beginning of the 20th century have been brought into conversation with recent discussions in the social sciences (social psychology, anthropology, cultural psychology, sociology) and analytic philosophy. The publications have demonstrated the power and fruitfulness of this approach.
A final set of publications has focused on emotions and emotional sharing and their role in the constitution of social identities and group identifications. More specifically, work has been done on the affective character of joint improvisation; on ressentiment and group-based pride; and insights from these theoretical debates have been applied to empirical research on right-wing populism.