From collective intentionality to intentional collectives: An ontological perspective

This paper presents a methodology for the analysis of the entities which the discourse on collective intentionality usually refers to. We aim, in particular, at characterizing the notion of intentional collective. Based on reviews of the relevant literature, we apply three formal-ontological tools of our choice (namely, DOLCE, DnS, and DDPO) to the treatment of the notions of collection, agent, plan and collective, all underlying the concept of intentional collective. We believe that the proposed approach offers several advantages, among which its explicitness, modularity and formality. This makes it particularly suitable for a founded specification of typologies of collections and collectives, hence for contributing to both philosophic and scientific research on these topics.