Language and Social Ontology

This article is concerned with the ontology of a certain class of social entities and the role of language in the creation and maintenance of such entities. The social entities I have in mind are such objects as the $ 20 bill in my hand, The University of California, and the President of the United States. I also include such facts as the fact that George Bush is President of the United States; that the piece of paper I hold in my hand is a $20 bill; and that I am a citizen of the United States. I call such facts "institutional facts," and it will emerge that the facts are logically prior to the objects. Under the concept of social entity, I also mean to include such institutions as money, property, government, and marriage. I briefly examine the nature of language and its relation to society. One point I make is that once we have a language, we have a social contract. The discussion shows why language is the fundamental social institution and why it is not like other institutions.