Reflecting on the general existential situation of wo/man and her relationship to the world

In my forthcoming PhD dissertation (completed February 05; the date of the defence has not yet been decided) Communities & Reality focus is put on to what extend it make sense to argue that the common reality in which we live is created communicatively by human we-communities. The dissertation consist of two parts: Part one opens the question of whether the common reality is constructed by us, through a reconstruction of three turns in the reflection of man in the 20th century: (i) a phenomenological turn, (ii) a constructivist turn and (iii) a communicative turn. Part two unfolds the question by discussing the relationship between communities and reality with regards to five distinctions: (1) the difference between being to gether as such and being in communities, (2) the difference between inter-social I-You events and intra-social We-events, (3) the difference between independent communities and dependent communities, (4) the difference between a reality being the same and a reality being different for those it is a reality for and (5) the difference between continuity and discontinuity with regards to both communities, reality and their relationship. The answer of the dissertation is that it actually makes sense to ask how the reality in which we live is created by we-communities ? but that there are several pitfalls to avoid if one does not want to end up in obscurities. Further it is argued that many contemporary ways of dealing with the thesis that the reality is made up by us is not carefully enough in overcoming these obstacles and therefore are essentially misleading.