On Social Facts

Are social groups real in any sense that is independent of the thoughts, actions and beliefs of the individuals making up the group? Using methods of philosophy to examine such long-standing sociological questions, the author gives a general characterization of the core phenomena at issue in the domain of human social life. After developing detailed analyses of a number of central concepts of social phenomena - including shared action, a social convention, a group's belief and a group itself - she proposes that the core social phenomena among human beings are "plural subject" phenomena. In her analyses Gilbert discusses the work of such thinkers as Emile Durkheim, Georg Simmel, Max Weber and David Lewis.