Sociological Thinking Research Articles

Book review: Seyed Javad Miri, Probing into the Sociological Thought of Allama M.T. Jafari

Book review: Seyed Javad Miri, <i>Probing into the Sociological Thought of Allama M.T. Jafari</i>

The other ‘Hobbes’ people’: An alternative reading of Hobbes

This paper argues that while Hobbes has been very influential in sociological thinking, in particular through the influence of Ferdinand Tönnies and Talcott Parsons, there is an important alternative reading of Hobbes that one might call the ‘real’ Hobbes, which has remained unknown to social theory. Because these classical readings of Hobbes still inform most social theory, sociologists are in effect trapped within them. Through a careful analysis of classic interpretations of Hobbes by Tönnies and Parsons, coupled with a close reading of Hobbes’ actual texts, and his criticisms of Aristotle, this paper will suggest that a different understanding of the ‘people’ who populate Hobbes’ social universe is possible. It will be suggested that this new understanding of Hobbes also makes the contemporary understanding of the history of political philosophy more fruitful for theoretical sociology.

The Evolution of Chicago

In this issue, Marion Blute discusses questions related to the evolution of anisogamy (sexual reproduction by the fusion of gametes that are dissimilar in size or form), a topic that is thought to be the foundation of the theory of gender differences and relations. Current attempts to bridge between geometric morphometrics (GMM) and finite element analyses (FEA) of CT-derived data from bones of living animals and fossils appear to lack a sound biotheoretical foundation. Fred Bookstein appeals to ‘‘a new rhetoric of quantitative inference’’ across the GMM–FEA bridge, linking form to function. Pondering the origins of life, Isaac Salazar-Ciudad argues that evolution can happen without anything being copied and that, in fact, RNA copying is too complex to arise spontaneously as the first pre-biotic system. He suggests how RNA replication could have arisen after evolvable systems had come into being, and how this crucial innovation could have spread over existing evolutionary systems to become a major driver of subsequent evolution. Sober has objected that Felsenstein’s method of independent contrasts (FIC), one of the most widely used approaches to the study of correlated evolution, is methodologically flawed as it seemingly rests on the assumption that the traits it studies evolved by drift, ruling out selective hypotheses from the start. Armin Schulz shows that the assumptions behind the FIC do not in fact preclude it from investigating selective hypotheses. Michael Trestman argues that behavior played a crucial role in driving at least some of the major transitions in evolution. Because behavioral interactions can become stably organized in novel ways on time scales faster than the lifetime of an organism, behavior can lead the way into a transition—becoming organized at the new level prior to inheritance and development. Moreover, he shows that novel forms of behavioral organization (distributed or hierarchical control that produces functional coherence) can emerge, binding the evolutionary fates of a group of previously independent organisms, and leading the way to an aggregative or ‘‘higher-level’’ mode of reproduction. The issue also contains two historical essays. The first one, by Frederic Tremblay, documents how tenets of Nicolai Hartmann’s ontology—including ‘‘what is real is what is temporal,’’ and ‘‘the criterion of individuality is to have duration’’—influenced the entomologist Willi Hennig when he was developing his phylogenetic systematics. In his Grundzuge einer Theorie der phylogenetischen Systematik, Hennig argued as far back as 1950 that biological species are best construed as individuals. In a short paper on ‘‘Science and Language,’’ David Hull recalled that a reviewer of a book that reached conclusions similar to Hennig’s, Rolf Lother’s Die Beherrschung der Mannigfaltigkeit (1972), had remarked that logicians ‘‘should take note’’ of Lother’s conclusion that ‘‘in the light of the Darwinian theory all taxa must be considered individuals, and all taxa names proper names.’’ Hull, who together with Michael Ghiselin introduced the thesis that species are individuals in the Anglo-American biological world in the mid-1970s, comments: ‘‘I for one look back at this literature with considerable frustration. Why did I have to start from scratch? Why did Ghiselin and I have to rediscover the wheel?’’ (Hull 2010, p. 36; see also Ghiselin 2010). ‘‘One answer is that so few English-speaking systematists are fluent in German.’’ The second historical essay in this issue discusses Robert E. Park’s contribution to Darwinian thinking in early American sociology. As the leading figure of the Human Ecology Approach established in the 1920s and W. Callebaut (&) Konrad Lorenz Institute for Evolution and Cognition Research, Altenberg, Austria e-mail: werner.callebaut@kli.ac.at

Is Bertrand de Jouvenel only a Liberal Philosopher? The Relations between His Political Thought with the Twentieth Century Sociological Thought

My paper is dedicated to Bertrand de Jouvenel's political thought. My present work frames his thoughts into new theoretical paradigms.If we look at the critical literature on Jouvenel, we realize that this thinker is commonly regarded by his interpreters as a Liberal philosopher.This is the case for instance of Olivier Dard who, in his work Bertrand de Jouvenel (2008), emphasizes the similarities between Jouvenel's thought and that of Friedrich von Hayek. Jouvenel, in fact, was a member of the Mont Pelerin Society, an international organization advocating for pro-market policies.This view has certainly some truth, since in his major works,Du Pouvoir (1945)and De la Souverainete (1955)he displays his conception of history saying that it is part of the anti-statist tradition. My essay aims at integrating this approach, illustrating the connections between Jouvenel and some sociological thoughts.

Working knowledge: making the human sciences from Parsons to Kuhn

The human sciences in the English-speaking world have been in a state of crisis since the Second World War. The battle between champions of hard-core scientific standards and supporters of a more humanistic, interpretive approach has been fought to a stalemate. Joel Isaac seeks to throw these contemporary disputes into much-needed historical relief. In Working Knowledge he explores how influential thinkers in the twentieth century's middle decades understood the relations among science, knowledge, and the empirical study of human affairs. For a number of these thinkers, questions about what kinds of knowledge the human sciences could produce did not rest on grand ideological gestures toward and objectivity but were linked to the ways in which knowledge was created and taught in laboratories and seminar rooms. Isaac places special emphasis on the practical, local manifestations of their theoretical ideas. In the case of Percy Williams Bridgman, Talcott Parsons, B. F. Skinner, W. V. O. Quine, and Thomas Kuhn, the institutional milieu in which they constructed their models of scientific practice was University. Isaac delineates the role the Harvard complex played in fostering connections between epistemological discourse and the practice of science. Operating alongside but apart from traditional departments were special seminars, interfaculty discussion groups, and non-professionalized societies and teaching programs that shaped thinking in sociology, psychology, anthropology, philosophy, science studies, and management science. In tracing this culture of inquiry in the human sciences, Isaac offers intellectual history at its most expansive.

Book Review: Stephen Dunne reviews Abandon philosophy all ye who enter here, Norbert Elias and Figurational Research: Processual Thinking in Sociology, edited by Norman Gabriel and Stephen Mennell (eds)

Book Review: Stephen Dunne reviews Abandon philosophy all ye who enter here, <i>Norbert Elias and Figurational Research: Processual Thinking in Sociology</i>, edited by Norman Gabriel and Stephen Mennell (eds)

Pride and Prejudice in Contemporary Marriages: On the Hidden Constraints to Individualisation at the Crossroad of Tradition and Modernity

Pride and Prejudice in Contemporary Marriages: On the Hidden Constraints to Individualisation at the Crossroad of Tradition and Modernity

Il ruolo della Sociologia della salute e della medicina nell'attuale dibattito sulla inter-disciplinarietÀ nelle scienze sociali

Since the earliest phases of its institutionalization, the sociology of health and medicine has played an increasingly central role within the more general context of sociological thinking. Its prospects are further heightened in the context of the current debate on the interactions between the social sciences and fields of knowledge like cognitive science, behavioral genetics, neurosciences, which are becoming more and more closely engaged with the study of Human Social Behavior. This mediation role, however, finds it difficult to manifest itself due to the various theoretical and epistemological inclinations that sociology has relied on to solidify its own identity and stand apart from the formal criteria used in other scholarly contexts.

Um breve ensaio da psicologia acerca do comportamento consumista na sociedade atual

Na sociedade contemporânea o consumo vem sendo visto como uma atividade complexa e o pensamento sociológico e psicológico sobre ele apresentam diversos caminhos para a investigação. O presente artigo tem o objetivo de discutir algumas das diversas relações entre consumo, cultura e sociedade, por meio de uma reflexão sobre a dimensão individual e social do consumo, bem como, o consumo como transtorno compulsivo. Para tanto, várias perspectivas conceituais serão utilizadas, de forma a apresentar um quadro ampliado das discussões sobre o assunto na psicologia, sociologia, antropologia e, a partir dessa contextualização mais vasta, alcançar uma possível categorização das dimensões sociais do consumo, de suas características e das maneiras pelas quais elas são vividas na sociedade.

Mead’s Analysis of Social Conflict: A Radical Interactionist’s Critique

Because Mead entered the pantheon of classic sociological thinkers much later than Durkheim, Marx, and Weber, sociologists have unsurprisingly devoted much more critical attention to their ideas than his. Perhaps, nowhere is the lack of this attention on their part more glaring than in his explanation of social conflict. Mead views the emergence and resolution of conflict as taking place within the social act, in which either individuals or groups may be the acting units, and attitudes, roles, significant symbols, and attitudinal assumption operate as the common, key components. As far as the emergence of conflict is concerned, he accounts for it on the basis of insufficient differentiation of roles, non-meritorious allocation of roles, and adoption of self-centered attitudes on the part of the participants during their construction of a social act. As far as the resolution of conflict is concerned, he predictably explains it on the basis of their expansion of role differentiation, distribution of roles on basis of merit, and the adoption of other-centered attitudes. Despite that Mead’s explanation of the resolution and emergence of conflict is relatively consistent and offers many profound insights, it suffers from several irresolvable problems. All these various problems can be traced back to his decision to rest his explanation on his much cherished principle of “sociality,” rather than domination, and thereby, ultimately, his rejection of a radical interactionist’s perspective. Thus, it is now long overdue for sociologists to consider the merits of a new, more radical interactionism as a replacement for his much older and more conventional counterpart, symbolic interactionism.

The role of the Sociology of Health and Medicine in the current debate on interdisciplinarity in Social Sciences

Since the earliest phases of its institutionalization, the sociology of health and medicine has played an increasingly central role within the more general context of sociological thinking. Its prospects are further heightened in the context of the current debate on the interactions between the social sciences and fields of knowledge like cognitive science, behavioral genetics, neurosciences, which are becoming more and more closely engaged with the study of Human Social Behavior. This mediation role, however, finds it difficult to manifest itself due to the various theoretical and epistemological inclinations that sociology has relied on to solidify its own identity and stand apart from the formal criteria used in other scholarly contexts.

Book Review: Norbert Elias and Figurational Research: Processual Thinking in Sociology

Book Review: Norbert Elias and Figurational Research: Processual Thinking in Sociology

Metaphors in and for the Sociology of Religion: Towards a Theory after Nietzsche

Metaphors are indispensable for sociological thinking about religion, but they have received much less consideration than they deserve. This article argues the importance of systematic theoretical reflection on metaphors, both in the sociological analysis of religion and in the religious discourse of society. The article provides an outline of Nietzsche's early sociological theory of metaphor, situating it as a neglected classic for sociologists of religion in the context of other work on metaphor in the discipline.

Re-Reading Robert E. Park on Social Evolution: An Early Darwinian Conception of Society

Although Darwinian concepts have largely been banned from the social sciences of the last century, they have recently seen a revival in several disciplines such as sociology, anthropology, or economics. Most of the current proponents of evolutionary theorizing in the social sciences avoid references to the older literature on social evolution. On that background, this article presents a contribution to Darwinist thinking in early American sociology that has mainly been overlooked in the literature. As the leading figure of the Human Ecology Approach, which was established during the 1920s and 1930s, Robert Ezra Park drew heavily on evolutionary concepts to explain human evolution. A systematic presentation of these concepts in the light of the modern discussion on sociocultural evolution is given, followed by a conclusion about what can be learned from Park today.

Book Review: The Promise of Sociology: The Classical Tradition and Contemporary Sociological Thinking

Book Review: The Promise of Sociology: The Classical Tradition and Contemporary Sociological Thinking

The Consequences of Love: Young People and Family Practices in Difficult Circumstances

In recent years, there has been a resurgence of sociological work exploring the importance and meaning of kinship. Much of this work has criticized the ‘individualization’ thesis according to which changes in family structures over time have been interpreted as reflecting a fundamental decline in family values. Highlighting continuities as well as change in family life, this work has also suggested ways to move beyond the individualization debate and to develop alternative frameworks for the study of contemporary families and personal life, notably through the analysis of related practices. For various reasons, this recent work has focused primarily on the experience and practices of adults in ‘ordinary’ rather than more difficult family circumstances. This article aims to complement this work by focusing on the difficult family experiences of young people affected by parental substance use. It is argued that it is important not to lose sight of such experiences in order that sociological thinking reflect the diversity of family practices and the resources available to support them, including at younger ages. In addition, the importance of developing concepts or a language facilitating the exploration and communication of the emotional and symbolic significance of these practices is emphasized.

Homelessness, Housing, and Mental Illnessby SchuttRussell K.. Cambridge, Mass., Harvard University Press, 2011, 402 pp., $49.95.

Homelessness, Housing, and Mental Illnessby SchuttRussell K.. Cambridge, Mass., Harvard University Press, 2011, 402 pp., $49.95.

As ciências sociais e a diversidade dos sotaques

Este artigo retoma um tema clássico nas ciências sociais latino-americanas: a relação entre o seu desenvolvimento interno (nacional) e as influências externas. Trata-se, no entanto, de uma retomada que insere a problemática do pensamento sociológico no contexto da mundialização da cultura. Nesse sentido, para escapar à dicotomia entre pensamento nacional e pensamento cosmopolita, o autor propõe que as ciências sociais constituem uma língua com diferentes sotaques. Não existiria, portanto, um núcleo universal (identificado às teorias produzidas na Europa ou nos Estados Unidos) e um saber regional, identificado com os países ditos periféricos.

Book review: the end of prisons

In an engaging critique of crime, law, and punishment, Penal Abolitionism goes to great lengths to blend philosophy, theology and literature with deep strands of social theory—a tall task for a book with a page count of around 200. So, does the author pull it off? I think so. Moreover, it is Ruggiero’s analytical style—enhanced by a strong command of language—that allows readers to appreciate the force of his intellectualism. The work is presented in ten nicely organized chapters, each contributing to the argument that the penal response to crime is fundamentally flawed. Indeed, incarceration is harmful not only to those who lose their liberty but also detrimental to societies that claim to cherish such freedom. In making that case, Ruggiero presents biographical sketches of three “giants” of European abolitionism: Louk Hulsman, Thomas Mathiesen, and Nils Christie. By doing so, the book adds another level of interest (reminiscent of Lewis Coser’s Masters of Sociological Thought [1]). Some of the discussion draws on familiar debates over the ongoing (mis)use of prisons. Nonetheless, Ruggiero does a service to his (English-language) audience by incorporating insights from writings published in Italian, thereby laying out a more nuanced framework for understanding the persistence of penality. In the larger scheme, Ruggiero offers what might be viewed as a history of systems of (penal) thought, similar to the method of Foucault. But while Ruggiero observes Foucauldian theories, the book does not touch on French prison activism. That omission seems to be a missed opportunity. Had Ruggiero covered Foucault and the Groupe d’Information sur les Prisons, his own case against penal power would be grounded even further (see Welch [4, 5]). As another quibble, lengthy discussions on Durkheim [2] would have benefitted from notions contained in The Elementary Forms of Religious Life, a work that is conspicuously absent given the degree to which religion and culture shape Ruggiero’s critique. Similarly, commentary on Durkheim would have been sharpened by integrating the analysis of Philip Smith [3]. In his Crime Law Soc Change (2012) 57:121–122 DOI 10.1007/s10611-011-9355-9

Формирование промышленной политики: Соединённые Штаты, Великобритания и Франция в период становления железнодорожной отрасли (перевод Е. Б. Головляницыной)

In the middle of XIX century, governments in the US, France and Britain formed markedly different, but equally prosperous, industrial policy strategies. To understand the origins of these different policies, this book examines the evolution of public policies governing one of the first modern industries, the railroads. The historical analysis of secondary sources traces the evolution of both national industrial policy and political cultures in each country. Dobbin shows that governing principles in industrial policies reflect collective meanings from political sphere. Consequently, promotion patterns of industry formation correspond with the development of political institutions. Thus, the differences in the conceptions of economic efficiency could be explained in the terms of different political organization. In addition, the author argues that emerging industrial institutions reproduce those existing ones. Institutional isomorphism is based on shared meanings in political structures, which shape industrial policy defining which policy solutions were perceived as rational, efficient and moral. Dobbin’s theory is a bold approach to developing a full cultural theory. The author challenges conventional thinking in economics, political science, and sociology by arguing that cultural meaning plays an important role in the development of purportedly rational policies designed to promote industrial growth. The journal publishes Russian translation of chapter 1 “Political Culture and Industrial Rationality”? of “Forging Industrial Policy - Political Culture and Industrial Rationality”, in which Frank Dobbin proposes conceptual discussion on the origins of the cross-country differences in industrial policies. To understand the origins of these different policies, the author examines the evolution of public policies governing one of the first modern industries, the railroads.