Relationaler und reduktiver Individualismus

Relational views often are considered as an alternative to individualistic social theory. Based on the debate about collective intentionality the contribution argues that relationalism and reductive individualism do not necessarily contradict each other. Reductionist approaches assume that only individuals can be considered as carriers of collective intentionality, whereas non-reductionist approaches assume either collective subjects or the network of individual intentions as carriers. The latter position contradicts reductionism only if it is claimed that the network does not only depend on the individual contributions but also on the relatedness as such. The article demonstrates that a critique of solipsistic individualism, as given by John R. Searle, does not necessarily lead to the claim that the relationship as such is to be understood as the carrier of collective intentionality. The results of the developmental studies by Michael Tomasello also support an individualistic position according to which collective intentionality has to be conceptualized as a conjunction of complex individual orientations.