Research Group
in Analytic Philosophy

Abstract

In the literature on collective phenomena, it is often claimed that certain accounts fail on ground of hidden (or not so hidden) circularity. I argue that such worries are misplaced. I submit three lines of argument: (1) there are many purposes that can be served by circular accounts; (2) non-circular accounts may not always be preferable, even when they are available; (3) in general, we shouldn't expect that ordinary notions are liable to exact and non-circular analysis in terms of other concepts of ours. Given all of this, I claim, it is nothing but reasonable to rest content with an interesting and yet circular account of collective phenomena.