SubsidieMeestersThe Glue of Society: A Social Ontology of Social Cohesion
The GLUE project aims to clarify the concept of social cohesion and its role in social stability, expanding social ontology to include converging cooperation among agents with separate goals.
Projectdetails
Introduction
Social cohesion is a key concept in how we think about the social world. And yet, we have a very poor conceptual understanding of what social cohesion is, how it relates to other social phenomena, and which role it plays in maintaining social order and facilitating cooperation.
Current Challenges
To date, this challenge has not been taken up by social ontology. Contemporary social ontology primarily focuses on understanding the nature of collective cooperation in which people coalesce around a joint purpose in such a way that we can attribute attitudes and actions to them as a collective rather than as an aggregation of individuals.
Definition of Social Cohesion
But social cohesion is not only a function of collective cooperation but also the extent to which a social system enables mutually sustaining cooperation among agents with separate goals. Call this converging cooperation.
Project Aim
It seems then that social cohesion is a key concept in how we think about the social world that lies beyond the scope of social ontology in its current form. Responding to this impasse, the aim of the GLUE project is to secure philosophical clarification of the concept of social cohesion and to account for its role in constituting and maintaining the social world.
Research Questions
The primary research questions are:
- What is social cohesion, and which distinct social phenomenon might it refer to?
- What are the semantically explanatory relations between (a) social cohesion and (b) the concepts often used in social ontology and the social sciences to account for collective cooperation?
- How can a clearer account of social cohesion be used to foster social stability?
Methodology
Combining descriptive, explanatory, and critical approaches to social ontology, GLUE:
- Enriches our typology of social dynamics,
- Expands the scope of social ontology beyond collective cooperation,
- Introduces concepts that can help identify and mitigate forms of social destabilisation, and
- Develops a new and integrative research method for social ontology.
Financiële details & Tijdlijn
Financiële details
| Subsidiebedrag | € 1.499.943 |
| Totale projectbegroting | € 1.499.943 |
Tijdlijn
| Startdatum | 1-1-2025 |
| Einddatum | 31-12-2029 |
| Subsidiejaar | 2025 |
Partners & Locaties
Projectpartners
- AARHUS UNIVERSITETpenvoerder
Land(en)
Vergelijkbare projecten binnen European Research Council
| Project | Regeling | Bedrag | Jaar | Actie |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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Harmony within society
This project aims to develop a unified framework for understanding social interactions and divisive behaviors, exploring safe spaces, transparency, and coopetition to enhance societal engagement.
Collective Adaptation
This project aims to develop a scientific paradigm for studying collective adaptation by integrating cognitive and social processes through computational models and empirical data to address societal challenges.
The Social Dilemma of Self-Reliance
SELFRELIANCE investigates how increasing self-reliance affects cooperation, trust, and collective action through experiments, cross-cultural studies, and simulations to inform policies for global challenges.
GROUP MINDS IN ANCIENT NARRATIVE
This project explores how ancient narratives represent collective consciousness to enhance understanding of social cognition and intersubjectivity through an interdisciplinary analysis.
Mechanisms of Social Learning in Social Contagion and Cultural Evolution
The SOLAR project aims to develop a unified theoretical framework for understanding social learning mechanisms and their impact on cultural evolution and social contagion through multi-level analysis.