Formative context

Formative context is a concept developed by Harvard law professor and social theorist Roberto Unger. The term refers to a social or historical context that shapes and forms the individual and his world. Whereas other social and political philosophers have taken the historical context as a given, and seen it as something which would give birth to a new form, Unger tackles the idea head on. He attempts to explain how such contexts are made and reproduced. The most forceful articulation and development of the concept is in Unger's book False Necessity, in which he presents it in contrast to retrenched structure. These two ideas, formative context and retrenched structure, form the backbone of Unger's philosophy.

Influences on other fields

The theory has been heavily drawn on and used within the Social Study of Information Systems. In the field of Information Systems Claudio Ciborra and Giovan Lanzara define the term “formative context” as the “set of institutional arrangements and cognitive imageries that inform actors’ practical and reasoning routines in organisations”. They posit that the common inability to enquire into, challenge or shape Formative Context can inhibit individuals and organizations from acting competently and learning what they need to know in order to make the most of situations and technological transitions as the enchaining effect of Formative Context can lead to cognitive and social inertia.

See also

• False necessity

Further reading

• Gerardo Patriotta (2004). Organizational Knowledge in the Making. Oxford University Press. pp. 39–40. ISBN 0199275246. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |isbn13= ignored (help)