Trust and the social positioning process

When setting out, defending and exploring the implications of his specific position in social ontology, Tony Lawson highlights the importance of trust. Despite the significance he attaches to trust, Lawson does not provide an extended elaboration of the nature of trust but rather considers it in various contexts where his primary focus lies elsewhere. The purpose of the current paper is to examine how trust features in Lawson’s discussions. I identify three phases of argumentation where trust has some significant prominence in his work. Most recently Lawson when outlining his general socio-philosophical ontology describes trust as the essential glue binding society together. In earlier contributions he approaches trust from a developmental perspective and at times sees trust as a condition required for generalised human flourishing. I argue that a coherent and compelling account of the nature and significance of trust emerges from these discussions and that it is one that deserves further elaboration and critical attention. Resources in the form of certain complementary perspectives are identified that may help to flesh out aspects of Lawson’s account of trust.