>>> One big question in sociological theory is, are there non-tangible
>>> social structures that operate like this example? Is social structure
>>> as autonomous from the individuals who occupy it, as a building is?
>>>
>> What about social commitments? They arise from communication acts (such
>> as a purchase order) on the basis of social norms and they exist
>> independently of the fact if the agents involved in the communication
>> are aware of them (i.e. have a corresponding belief) or not.
>>
>
> I can see how a purchase order can be said to exist independently of
> agents' beliefs.
>
> But how can a social commitment related to that artifact be said to exist
> independently of agents' beliefs?
>
Even if the agent that places the order and the one that takes the order
do not create a belief in the corresponding commitment (to pay the
invoice after receiving the ordered item), say, because of a temporary
mental blackout, another agent that observed the communication can know
and explain to them that this commitment exists based on the social
norms of their language community.
This is is part of the semantics of communication, as argued by Searle,
e.g. in his book "The Construction of Social Reality".
-Gerd
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