Abstract

This article postulates that there are three necessary and related statements to understand social life; although they are known, they are often overlooked. First, social life is constructed, under not chosen conditions. Second, social life is rife with unexpected consequences of action. These two statements can be derived from a deeper one: social life is plural and it is always conducted with and between others. These statements do not provide a complete vision of social life, but they are indispensable to its knowledge, and a central task of social theory is to develop their consequences.