POLI 244 Lecture Notes - Lecture 16: Security Dilemma, Social Fact, Materialism
8 May 2017
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Document Summary
Brute facts are just there, while social facts are constructs built by collectively shared knowledge. Behavior is a brute fact without social context. Reality can be so complex that equally valid observations from different angles can appear contradictory. For example driving on the right side was precluded by the action of driving. Laws of war designate actions, but one can still violate the rule and be fighting a war. Don"t regulate but create the ability to do something. Playing chess only exists if the rules are followed. Social facts can only exist within this framework. For example, old rules about the conduct of war have become constitutive as to what the very nature of war even is. Neorealism material capabilities change through time as polarity does. Nature of power relations differs from more materialistic looks. Not just through material capability buildup, but through social relations of subordination. Power relations can be changed in non-material ways.
