Abstract

In June this year 2019 my attention was drawn to the publication of a new book by Tony Lawson The Nature of Social Reality Issues in Social Ontology London and New York Routledge I wrote to him to introduce myself and express my interest I did so because this is what I have been working on since about 2005 My book The Metaphysics of Scientific Realism 2009 was an argument for the acceptance of scientific realism as a First Philosophy i e as a foundation for all other philosophies The 2012 book Social Humanism A New Metaphysics was my first serious attempt to create an adequate scientifically realistic metaphysics for the social sciences It dealt mainly with human nature and with the social structure of human societies The anthropological evidence is that all human tribes even the most primitive have social structures that define the roles and responsibilities of their members These structures generally aim to minimise conflict within and promote the interests of the tribe or nation without I call it the de facto social contract of the society