Revolution in the Social Sciences

Bernard Phillips; David Christner

doi:10.5771/9780739172001

Summary

Revolution in the Social Sciences centers on integrating knowledge from sociology, psychology, anthropology, history, political science and economics in order to confront increasing worldwide problems that threaten all of us. That integration of knowledge of human behavior is essential for understanding those problems, given their enormous complexity coupled with the highly specialized nature of the social sciences and their limited communication across specialized fields. It carries further the ideas developed by the Sociological Imagination Group in the seven books it has published since its founding in 2000 (www.sociological-imagination.org): Beyond Sociology's Tower of Babel, Toward a Sociological Imagination, The Invisible Crisis of Contemporary Society, Understanding Terrorism, Armageddon or Evolution?Bureaucratic Culture and Escalating World Problems, and Saving Society.

In addition to visible problems like war and terrorism with weapons of mass destruction that are becoming ever more threatening, there are relatively invisible problems. For example, there is an increasing gap between what people throughout the world want—including a decent standard of living and freedom from patterns of hatred like racism, sexism and ageism—and what they are in fact able to get. There is, then, an increasing aspirations-fulfillment gap, largely produced by the "revolution of rising expectations" over the past five centuries. Political leaders who attempt to confront problems can only make limited progress on them, largely because of the failure of social scientists to integrate their knowledge and thus yield the understanding of these complex problems that is required.

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Bibliographic data

Copyright year: 2011
ISBN-Print: 978-0-7391-7199-8
ISBN-Online: 978-0-7391-7200-1
Publisher: Lexington, Lanham
Language: English
Pages: 189
Product type: Book Titles

1. Contents No access
2. Preface No access
3. Introduction No access
1. 1. The Physical Universe and Biological Evolution No access
  2. The Continuing Scientific and Technological Revolutions No access
  3. The Growing Aspirations-Fulfillment Gap and Emotional Repression No access
2. 1. Basic Assumptions: From Isolation toward Interaction (Metaphysics/Worldviews) No access
  2. Scientific Method: Breakthrough in the Social Sciences (Epistemology) No access
  3. East-West Strategy: Eastern Situations AND Western Structures (Theory) No access
1. 1. Inward-Outward Versus Inward or Outward Perception/Thought: Situations No access
  2. An Evolutionary Versus a Bureaucratic Self-Image: Structures No access
  3. An Evolutionary Versus a Bureaucratic Worldview: Structures No access
2. 1. Emotional Expression Versus Emotional Repression: Situations No access
  2. Positive Versus Negative Emotions: Situations No access
  3. A Narrow Versus a Wide Values-Fulfillment Gap: Structures No access
3. 1. Positive Versus Negative Actions/Interactions: Situations No access
  2. Evolutionary Versus Bureaucratic Rituals: Structures No access
  3. An Evolutionary Versus a Bureaucratic Way of Life: Structures No access
1. 1. Learning Versus Bureaucratic Groups: Structures No access
  2. Learning Versus Bureaucratic Institutions: Structures No access
  3. Learning Versus Bureaucratic Society: Structures No access
References No access Pages 178 - 181
Index No access Pages 182 - 188
About the Authors No access Pages 189 - 189