Preface

Language is the most convenient channel to access mind, which is also the inevitable bridge of morality and norms. Although applying language or words to construct the institution is nothing new, but to consider the usage of language as a kind of behavior, and the construction process of institution as the successful implementation of speech acts, which only has become a reality after speech act theory born. This research will extend the study of the construction of institution from macro level of society to the micro level of the language and mind of self, and from the static analysis of the institution to dynamically generation of the institution. In this book, I discussed the double protection to the construction rationality by the moral self-discipline and the external legal system, which will achieve a unification of microscopic individual virtue ethics and macroscopic institutional ethics. Therefore this study may provide theoretical support for the combination of virtue and the rule of law in China Construction.

Previous studies on the institutional ontology or institutional ethics, mostly ignored the role of language or paid little attention, and did not realize the human language ability to establish institutions is the result of interaction between nature and nurture. In fact, it is a matter of ignoring the human unique reason in the speech acts, which caused two aspects of its negative results, on the one hand, which ignored the moral self -discipline of the subjects of constructing system, on the other hand, which split apart the people's moral self-discipline and external systems. This book thinks that language is able to play an important role in the generation of the institutions, which mainly due to the symbol representation function and the ethical code functions of language.

Moreover, as a source of functional attributes of ethical code in the Language, the speech acts rationality, like the human language ability, is a social intelligence formed by the combination of nature and nurture. Therefore, the rationality of construction is composed of internal level of personal innate rationality and exteral dimension of customs or legal protection. How does language play a role in the generation of the institution? Not all language can construct the institution, only part of the specific language which is properly stated, for the speaker's social status and other factors to obtain the collective recognition and acceptance, can gradually become the institution.

All human activities that depend on the institutions are institutional facts, including those that construct the subordinate institutions. Therefore, the institutional fact is the basic element of institutional society, through the study of the foundation of the institutional facts, we can find how the institutional society constructs. This book explains the construction of institutional society from the construction of institutional facts. On the one hand, I hope to update the traditional institutional ethics by putting forward the double guarantees of internal moral norms and exteral communication rationality. On the other hand, I also to reveal the deep interaction of individual level of language, mental and ethical and grouplevel of institution and social order, in order to maintain the tension of holism and individualism.

This book first gives a logically complete three-dimensional review of Mindlanguage-Ethics to the construction process of institutional facts, and then defense the rationality of the practic turn of scientific rationality from the perspective of the understanding of institutional facts. In order to respond to the theoretical requirements of the times, the book also discusses the problems caused by the lack of public reason in the rule of the law in China Construction, and the different requirements of public rationality for legal makers and supervisors, as well as public participation in scientific technological innovation in the context of the practical turn of scientific rationality.

It is true that not only language is involved in the construction of institutional facts, but it is impossible to construct an institution that regulates human behavior without language, while other factors are included in the“background”of the collective intentionality behind the speech acts. Since the institution is a consensus reached by the group consultation, then the existence of collective intentionality is the key. In order to demonstrate that“language is the creation of collective psychology”and“the construction rationality of institutional facts is independent of personal desire, in line with the public objectives”, this book put forward“collective intentionality is a basic existence way of intention”, and use many new research results to prove this point. In this study, I adopt a moderate naturalist position, through the new research findings, and construct a theory connecting the personal self-consciousness, intention, and speech acts to the institution and social order. At last, I try to demonstrate the constrution rationality and the good of the institution by the showing the construction process rationality of the institutional facts. That is not only an attempt to set up a bridge between natural science research and social science research. At the same time, it may also deep the research of institutional ethics and provide theoritical support for combining morality and rule by law in China Construction.

It had taken me 10 years to study the relation of language and the institutional ethics, and this book is the phase fruit. Some of which has been published in the form of the paper, and the book make further changes and improvements. However, for the seek of my shallow and the rapid progress in knowledge, I feel nervous to show it to the readers. I sincerely welcome academic predecessor's and colleague's criticizations or corrections for the next reprint.

Song Chunyan

May 20,2017