Åsa Burman

Stockholm University
Institute for Futures Studies
  • Stockholm University
    Department of Philosophy
    Other
  • Institute for Futures Studies
    Affiliated Researcher
Lund University
Department of Philosophy
PhD
Stockholm, Stockholms Lan, Sweden
Areas of Specialization
Social Ontology
  •  333
    Power and Social Ontology
    Bokbox Publications. 2007.
    This work presents an account of social power based on recent advances in social ontology. It is argued that a conceptual analysis of social power can be informed by developments in social ontology, but also that this field can be enriched, and in fact requires, an analysis of this central social concept. Social power is dependent on the existence of various kinds of social phenomena, such as institutions and social structures, in order to exist. Consequently, a precise analysis of these social …Read more
  •  54
    Categories We Do Not Know We Live By
    Journal of Social Ontology 5 (2): 235-243. 2019.
    I argue that a central claim of Ásta’s conferralist framework – that it can account for all social properties of individuals – is false, by drawing attention to (opaque) class. I then discuss an implication of this objection; conferralism does not meet its own conditions of adequacy, such as providing a theory that helps to understand oppression. My diagnosis is that this objection points to a methodological problem: Ásta and other social ontologists have been fed on a “one-sided diet” of types …Read more
  •  52
    Nonideal Social Ontology: The Power View
    Oxford University Press. 2023.
    This book argues for the use of nonideal theory in social ontology. The central claim is that a paradigm shift is underway in contemporary social ontology, from ideal to nonideal, and that this shift should be fully followed through. To develop and defend this central claim, the first step is to show that the key questions and central dividing lines within contemporary social ontology can be fruitfully reconstructed as a clash between two worlds, referred to as ideal and nonideal social ontology…Read more
  •  47
    A Critique of the Status Function Account of Human Rights
    Philosophy of the Social Sciences 48 (5): 463-473. 2018.
    This contradiction ”1. The universal right to free speech did not exist before the European Enlightenment, at which time it came into existence. 2. The universal right to free speech has always existed, but this right was recognized only at the time of the European Enlightenment.” draws on two common and conflicting intuitions: The human right to free speech exists because institutions, or the law, says so. In contrast, the human right to free speech can exist independently of institutions—these…Read more
  •  12
    Thomasson’s Social Ontology
    In Miguel Garcia-Godinez (ed.), Thomasson on Ontology, Springer Verlag. pp. 163-181. 2023.
    This chapter aims to show that there is a general theory of social ontology implicit in Amie Thomasson’s prolific philosophical work. In contrast to her books on fiction and metaphysics, this theory is not argued for in a single volume. The first objective is thus to make Thomasson’s important contribution to social ontology explicit by drawing out its core features. Despite its many advantages, such as its ability to take abstract social objects into account, there is a central difficulty: Thom…Read more
  •  12
    Review of Categories We Live By (review)
    Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews 6 (5). 2019.
    Recently, I was discussing Ásta's book with a fellow social ontologist who exclaimed, "I not only think her view is elegant but also believe it is correct!" I agree with the elegance of this work; the book is clearly and concisely written, and the new theory presented -- the conferralist framework -- promises to capture a large and crucial part of social reality with a few basic elements. It accounts for both communal properties (being cool, being a popular footballer) and institutional properti…Read more