Unveiling the Social Construction Concept

Understanding Social Construction: Examples and Explanations

• Social construction refers to entities or phenomena that exist and continue to exist because of societal factors such as the way people think, talk, and conceptualize the world.
• Socially constructed entities or phenomena are real and have causes and effects, but are not solely objective physical, chemical, or biological entities or events.
• Money is a classic example of a socially constructed entity, as it holds value and allows for exchange, but its intrinsic value as a piece of paper is minimal and its value is determined by societal norms and regulations.
• Disability can also be considered a socially constructed concept, as what is considered a disability is dependent on societal norms and expectations around what is considered normal or able-bodied.
• Social construction does not negate the importance of physical or biological characteristics, as they still play a role in determining what is considered socially constructed.
• Social construction extends to language, as the meanings of words and sentences are determined by societal use and agreement.
• Social construction can imbue physical objects with normative and ethical properties, such as disabled parking spaces.
• Social construction does not mean that anything goes, as physical characteristics and limitations still play a role in determining what is considered socially constructed.
• Extreme anti-realist or idealist views that everything is socially constructed are not widely accepted, as they do not account for the objective physical reality that exists independently of human interaction.
• Social construction is compatible with a broadly realist view of reality, as it allows for the existence of different kinds of entities with different metaphysical stories.
• The metaphysics and ontology of socially constructed entities will be explored in a follow-up video.
• The philosophy of social construction is a current area of research in social philosophy, particularly in regards to gender and disability.