Philosophy
The Ontology of Social Groups and Collective Agency
Quick fact
Philosopher Margaret Gilbert's 'plural subject' theory suggests that a group is a subject of its own, formed when individuals jointly commit to something, creating group obligations that are not just individual obligations.
Why this is interesting
We talk about 'Facebook' making decisions, 'the committee' choosing, and 'the crowd' acting—but can a group really think or act, or is that just a metaphor?