The New Role of the Constitutive Rule

Frank A. Hindriks

American Journal of Economics and Sociology, 2003, vol. 62, issue 1, 185-208

Abstract: ABSTRACT . Searle used to analyze institutional facts in terms of the constitutive rule. In his more elaborate account in The Construction of Social Reality he introduces the notion of a status function. The “counts as” locution is central to both the constitutive rule and the status function. The main question I ask is what role is left for the constitutive rule after the introduction of the status function. In order to answer this question, I start by analyzing the notion of a status function. An examination of the relation between status functions and the function of representation reveals that the former is a species of the latter. An exploration of the relation between status functions and collective acceptance reveals that Searle does not provide an argument as to why collective acceptance is required for institutional facts. Searle's new account goes beyond his old analysis of institutional facts in terms of the constitutive rule. Rather than declaring the notion to be redundant, Searle assigns the constitutive rule a new role: it is to account for the fact that there can be counterfeit instances of a subclass of institutions, including, for example, that of money. This subclass consists of institutions that are codified.

Date: 2003
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