Date: Thu, 11 Apr 1996 23:56:05 +0300 (EET DST)
Subject: Re: 'sociality' -reply


Lisa,

I was afraid of that question...

Guess I referred in a sense to traditional idealist kind of
philosophy according to which 'substantia' ('hypokeimenon'
in Greek, in a case you want to look at some dictionary) -
that which is under, as underlying basis for phenomena, that
which doesn't need anything else in order to exist; as
'cause of itself' - can be thought to be something else than
matter or nature as whole, like materialists used to think.

Idealists thought that thinking in general, or 'ideal', is
necessary precondition for phenomenal world to exist for us.
As if things or singular beings doesn't exist until we have
a word and definition for them.

Now, it became clear that neither Nature nor Thinking as
such can't deliver that 'substantiality'. Dialectical
conceptions were introduced. (For example Spinoza: thinking
and extension (matter) are attributes of substance.) Little
by little historical or social process became understood as
really substantial principle (Hegel, Marx etc). That
involved acting people: Human practice takes place as that
which explains what happens both to nature (as object of
labour) and to people (both as living bodies and thinkers).
Sociality, or 'social' as I've learned to call it, includes
practice as one central dimension among its characteristics
or 'predicates' (such as communication and language, some
action-orienting or directing structural features as
'cultural codes' or rules - especially moral and cognitive
'codes').

In this sense it could be said that social or sociality is
substance. It cannot be explained by genes neither by ideas.
Instead it might explain to some extent even genetic changes
on the long run. I'm not saying that it explains genes. It
just might explain some changes as far as these are caused
by some other changes in environment caused basically by
human interference. This society-nature relationship surely
isn't my expertise so beware..

Hope I was able to say something sensible. Any sense?

Yours, Jukka



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