Searle uses examples throughout the text to help support his theory that society is socially constructed. He explains what point he is trying to make and then he gives an example of them. This, for the most part, helps convincingly support his arguments. Searle (1997) explains collective intentionality by giving the example of an orchestra. He says that it is not by chance that the people in the orchestra just happen in the same location, playing the same songs, at the same time, in the same key. They are there together with the intent of “we play” in mind. There are also cases in which the examples can confuse readers. An example of this is when Searle (1997) explains the iteration of “X counts as Y in C. While I now understand the meaning of this idea, when reading, it I had to read the paragraph multiple times to follow.
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He uses assignment of function as part of the “building blocks” for the theory of institutional facts. Because there are many different societies in the world each with their own morals and values, the function societies designate to items can change. Searle uses the example of the human heart. We, as a society, designate the function of a heart to pump blood, thus keeping us alive (Searle 1997). However, if we, as a society, valued death then the function of the heart would be to delay death. This is an idea that can be applied to technology. Some older generations give little value to technology advances. Many argue that the purpose of technology is to take jobs and dissociate from the community. However, there are some younger generations that argue that technology is a way of advancing many jobs and it helps build a new kind of community. Due to the values of each generations we assign a different function to
He uses assignment of function as part of the “building blocks” for the theory of institutional facts. Because there are many different societies in the world each with their own morals and values, the function societies designate to items can change. Searle uses the example of the human heart. We, as a society, designate the function of a heart to pump blood, thus keeping us alive (Searle 1997). However, if we, as a society, valued death then the function of the heart would be to delay death. This is an idea that can be applied to technology. Some older generations give little value to technology advances. Many argue that the purpose of technology is to take jobs and dissociate from the community. However, there are some younger generations that argue that technology is a way of advancing many jobs and it helps build a new kind of community. Due to the values of each generations we assign a different function to