New Books in Philosophy

Charlotte Witt, "Social Goodness: The Ontology of Social Norms" (Oxford UP, 2023)

Mar 5, 2024

Charlotte Witt, an accomplished author and academic, discusses the intriguing nature of social norms in her latest work. She examines how our roles, like those of professors or parents, impose unchosen obligations. Witt shares personal experiences from her culturally rich upbringing, highlighting how norms evolve and react to nonconformity. The dialogue dives into the artisanal model of norms, emphasizing care and craftsmanship in social practices, shedding light on the interplay of individual agency and hierarchical structures in shaping our societal roles.

01:07:46

Episode guests

Charlotte Witt

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Quick takeaways

Social norms are shaped by specific social roles and reflect inherent expectations, raising questions about their sources of normativity.

The artisanal model illustrates that social norms can be refined through practice and critique, emphasizing the values and intentions behind our actions.

Deep dives

Importance of Social Norms

Social norms play a crucial role in our everyday lives by dictating the expectations tied to various social roles. For instance, professors are expected to pursue truth, while parents should support their children. These norms seem to be inherent to specific roles, raising the philosophical puzzle of why they hold such normative power. Understanding the origins and significance of these social norms is vital to comprehending how they shape our interactions and behaviors.

Intro

3min

Cultural Journeys and Social Norms

13min

Examining the Dynamics of Social Norms and Nonconformity

3min

Exploring Social Norms: Internalism vs. Externalism

20min

The Art of Care: Craftsmanship in Culinary Experience

3min

Navigating Social Ontology: Beyond Individualism

18min

Exploring Hierarchical Relationships in Social Roles

4min

In our day-to-day lives, we are subject to normative requirements, obligations, and expectations that originate in the social roles we occupy. For example, professors ought to pursue the truth, while parents ought to be supportive of their children. What’s interesting is that these role-specific requirements seem to befall us. We do not choose them. This raises the puzzle of what accounts for their normativity.

In Social Goodness: The Ontology of Social Norms (Oxford University Press 2023), Charlotte Witt proposes a novel and intriguing conception of the nature of social norms and the source of their normativity. The centerpiece of her account is the idea that we must look to various examples of artisanal practices, dispositions, and techniques to understand social norms.

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