
Life in Groups
How We Think, Feel, and Act Together
Margaret Gilbert(Author)
Oxford University Press
Published on 23. July 2025
Book
Paperback/Softback
352 pages
978-0-19-897880-0 (ISBN)
Description
Life in Groups: How We Think, Feel, and Act Together is a collection of standalone essays that explores the nature and consequences of our thinking, feeling, and acting together. Topics include collective intentions and their relation to agreements, culture as a collective construction, the impact of collective beliefs on scientific progress, group lies, and the relation of collective wisdom to the freedom of group members. Margaret Gilbert responds to critics of her accounts of political obligation and collective moral responsibility and discusses in detail the mutual rights and obligations she takes to be part and parcel of human life in groups. Throughout the book Gilbert places her notion of joint commitment at the core of our thinking, feeling, and acting together.
Reviews / Votes
The breadth of topics in this book testifies vividly to the relevance of Gilbert's work * Hans-Bernard Schmid, Mind * Careful attention to the subtleties of everyday interpersonal interactions can yield deep philosophical insight. Margaret Gilbert is a master of such attention. * Nicholas Cornell, Ethics *More details
Language
English
Place of publication
Oxford
United Kingdom
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Unsewn / adhesive bound
Dimensions
Height: 231 mm
Width: 153 mm
Thickness: 23 mm
Weight
538 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-19-897880-0 (9780198978800)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Person
A leading figure in the philosophy of the social world, Margaret Gilbert has regularly applied her ideas in that area to significant problems in moral, political, and legal philosophy, and her work has been influential in such fields as developmental psychology. She has received fellowships from the National Endowment for the Humanities and the American Council of Learned Societies, and was awarded the Lebowitz Prize for philosophical achievement and contribution. Gilbert was President of the Pacific branch of the American Philosophical Association in 2023-4, and is an elected member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
Author
Distinguished Professor of Philosophy and Melden Chair in Moral PhilosophyDistinguished Professor of Philosophy and Melden Chair in Moral Philosophy, University of California, Irvine
Content
Introduction
1: The Nature of Agreements: A Solution to Some Puzzles about Claim-Rights and Joint Intention
2: Culture as Collective Construction
3: Joint Commitment and Collective Belief
4: Belief, Acceptance, and What Happens in Groups: Some Methodological Considerations
5: Collective Belief, Kuhn, and the String Theory Community
6: Group Lies---and Some Related Matters
7: Collective Remorse
8: How We Feel: Understanding Collective Emotion Ascriptions
9: Collective Preferences, Obligations, and Rational Choice
10: Corporate Misbehavior and Collective Values
11: Can a Wise Society Be a Free One?
12: Regarding A Theory of Political Obligation
13: Giving Claim-Rights Their Due
Conclusion
1: The Nature of Agreements: A Solution to Some Puzzles about Claim-Rights and Joint Intention
2: Culture as Collective Construction
3: Joint Commitment and Collective Belief
4: Belief, Acceptance, and What Happens in Groups: Some Methodological Considerations
5: Collective Belief, Kuhn, and the String Theory Community
6: Group Lies---and Some Related Matters
7: Collective Remorse
8: How We Feel: Understanding Collective Emotion Ascriptions
9: Collective Preferences, Obligations, and Rational Choice
10: Corporate Misbehavior and Collective Values
11: Can a Wise Society Be a Free One?
12: Regarding A Theory of Political Obligation
13: Giving Claim-Rights Their Due
Conclusion