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This paper introduces the original research articles that constitute the present Forum issue on unpredictability, contingency and catastrophe. In doing so, it also identifies and discusses the specificity of realist approaches to the above questions. It is argued that attentiveness to the ontological dimension of (un)predictability opens promising avenues for reflexive approaches to social science and collective action. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates a puzzling feature of social conventions: the fact that they are both arbitrary and normative. We examine how this tension is addressed in sociological accounts of conventional phenomena. Traditional approaches tend to generate either synchronic accounts that fail to consider the arbitrariness of conventions, or diachronic accounts that miss central aspects of their normativity. As a remedy, we propose a processual conception that considers conventions as both the outcome and material cause of much human activity. This conceptualization, which borrows from the économie des conventions as well as critical realism, provides a novel perspective on how conventions are nested and defined, and on how they are established, maintained and challenged. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article proposes that social rules are immanent to the practices of participants. It examines the internal relation of social rules and social relations to distinguish between social and personal rules. The author suggests that rules and other social beings such as roles and relations are ontologically distinct though dependent on the practices of people.

This article is a transcript of a conversation with Judith Butler, a prominent philosopher and gender theorist, discussing various topics related to gender, social justice, and interdependency. Butler's work focuses on the organization of gender in and through work, and their upcoming book explores the fear and controversy surrounding gender. The conversation highlights the importance of open debate and critical examination of gender studies literature, as well as the opposition and attacks faced by this field. The text also explores issues such as free speech, violence and injustice, solidarity, and the need for ongoing recognition and engagement in the process of solidarity. Butler's forthcoming book will examine the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our understanding of interdependency and inequality. [Extracted from the article]