The Glue of Society: A Social Ontology of Social Cohesion [GLUE]

Social cohesion is a key concept in how policy-makers, social scientists and ordinary people think about the social world. Social cohesion is supposed to be essential for how societies function and maintain stability. However, we have a poor conceptual understanding of social cohesion, and it remains heavily undertheorized in contemporary social ontology. Indeed, recent social ontology focuses primarily on what we might call bonding, where agents unite around a shared purpose, whereas social cohesion also seems to require bridging, namely, sustainable cooperation among agents with separate goals. The aim of the GLUE project is to address this gap. We will, in short, secure philosophical clarification of the concept of social cohesion, account for its role in constituting and maintaining the social world, and reconsider its value.

Integrating phenomenological, analytical, and critical philosophical methods, the project is divided into three phases.

Phase 1: A Descriptive Social Ontology of Social Cohesion

Phase 1 describes which phenomenon or set of phenomena the term social cohesion refers to. Paying particular attention to the different attitudes associated with social cohesion (trust, recognition, group identity, belonging), we will consider what, if anything, unites these attitudes, and to which extent they can serve as the micro-foundation of social cohesion.

Phase 2: An Explanatory Social Ontology of Social Cohesion

Phase 2 explores the semantic relations between social cohesion and selected key concepts from social ontology, everyday life, and the social sciences. The aim is, hence, to clarify the logical structure of the concept of social cohesion and map its relation to concepts such as collective intentionality and institutional facts. It also critically examines existing accounts of group agency, asking what these accounts presuppose about the social bonds among cooperating agents and whether they can accommodate the bridging relations central to social cohesion.

Phase 3: A Critical Social Ontology of Social Cohesion

Phase 3 develops a critical framework for analyzing social cohesion. First, it proposes a systematic analysis of different kinds of social cohesion deficits by examining how marginalization, polarization, and social fragmentation relate to the core properties of social cohesion. Second, it critically reconsiders the value of social cohesion, focusing especially on its connection to social justice.

Research Objectives

The main objectives of the GLUE project are to

• critically assess existing approaches to social cohesion and identify the core property or properties that constitute it;

• clarify the conceptual relations between social cohesion and key concepts in social ontology and the social sciences, including collective intentionality, group agency, and institutional facts;

• develop a framework for analyzing social cohesion deficits and assessing the value of social cohesion;

• offer an integrated research method for social ontology that combines descriptive, explanatory, and critical methods.

Funding Acknowledgment

This project has received funding from the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union’s Horizon Europe research and innovation programme (grant agreement no. 101161846 – GLUE – ERC-2024-STG). Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Research Council Executive Agency. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.