Summary
In his book The Construction of Social Reality, John Searle discusses the classical question of how society and social institutions are possible if they are human constructions and not "brute facts". His basic argument is that although social institutions exist only because we believe them to exist, they still exist as facts in the world to which we can refer. The main part of his book is about the factual existence of social institutions, i.e. about social facts and the role of language in constituting such facts and giving them an almost ontological existence. The book includes as part of the argument a critical discussion of radical constructivism. In this paper the history of the topic is summarised, and the main arguments of Searle’s book are presented. In particular, various versions of constructivism are specified with reference to the definition of the external world, the social world and the human "I". Finally, the problem regarding "infinite regress" or circularity (that we refer to something which exists only because we refer to it) is reflected upon.
Introduction
How is Society possible?
Searle’s book is about the question "How is society possible?" This has been a basic concern for social theory at least since Thomas Hobbes (1588-1679), cf. his Leviathan from 1651 "...on the matter, form, and power of a commonwealth ecclesiastical and civil", as the subtitle says. How is commonwealth possible among people who are not united through internal ties? While his question was modern - representing the modern, individualised human being - his answer was pre-modern: It is necessary to unite these individuals through external power, e.g. through a sovereign state. It is the state that makes society possible.
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