Does power unify a society?

Abstract

After an introductory consideration on the specificity of philosophy and social philosophy about the socio-historical world, which can no longer be summarized under the name of “politics”, the essay advances a concept of society not as a unity of individuals, territorially or culturally secluded, but as a network of linguistic games, institutions and differentiated spheres. The result is a concept of power constitutively in the plural, which is thought as primarily organizing and collective. The main question, which is only extrinsically negotiable in terms of justice, results in the problem of how to avoid that a sphere predominates over the remaining ones, thus compressing the contributions, potentialities and inclusive capacity of each one.

Keywords:

Social philosophy Powers Social differentiation Philosophy of language