Author: William N. Stephens
Publisher: Holt Rinehart and Winston
Genre: Social Science
Release: Jan 1963 My Rating: 0
Summary: Originally published in 1963 by Holt, Rinehart and Winston, this volume treats a wide array of topics, including plural marriage, unilineal kin groups, arranged marriage, bride price, marriage ceremonial, rules against adultery, role of husband and wife, and family deference customs.
Publisher: Holt Rinehart and Winston
Genre: Social Science
Release: Jan 1963 My Rating: 0
Summary: Originally published in 1963 by Holt, Rinehart and Winston, this volume treats a wide array of topics, including plural marriage, unilineal kin groups, arranged marriage, bride price, marriage ceremonial, rules against adultery, role of husband and wife, and family deference customs.
Author: Andrew Levine
Publisher: Pluto Press
Genre: Social Science
Release: Jan 2003 My Rating: 0
Summary:
Publisher: Pluto Press
Genre: Social Science
Release: Jan 2003 My Rating: 0
Summary:
Author: James E. Waller
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
Genre: Social Science
Release: Jan 2007 My Rating: 5
Summary: Social psychologist James Waller uncovers the internal and external factors that can lead ordinary people to commit extraordinary acts of evil. Waller offers a sophisticated and comprehensive psychological view of how anyone can potentially participate in heinous crimes against humanity. He outlines the evolutionary forces that shape human nature, the individual dispositions that are more likely to engage in acts of evil, and the context of cruelty in which these extraordinary acts can emerge. Eyewitness accounts are presented at the end of each chapter. In this second edition, Waller has revised and updated eyewitness accounts and substantially reworked Part II of the book, removing the chapter about human nature and evolutionary adaptations, and instead using this evolutionary perspective as a base for his entire model of human evil.
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
Genre: Social Science
Release: Jan 2007 My Rating: 5
Summary: Social psychologist James Waller uncovers the internal and external factors that can lead ordinary people to commit extraordinary acts of evil. Waller offers a sophisticated and comprehensive psychological view of how anyone can potentially participate in heinous crimes against humanity. He outlines the evolutionary forces that shape human nature, the individual dispositions that are more likely to engage in acts of evil, and the context of cruelty in which these extraordinary acts can emerge. Eyewitness accounts are presented at the end of each chapter. In this second edition, Waller has revised and updated eyewitness accounts and substantially reworked Part II of the book, removing the chapter about human nature and evolutionary adaptations, and instead using this evolutionary perspective as a base for his entire model of human evil.
Author: Maurice Brinton
Publisher: See Sharp Pr
Genre: Social Science
Release: Jan 1993 My Rating: 5
Summary: "The family...and sexual repression...together result in the mass production of individuals perpetually craving authority and leadership, forever afraid of walking on their own and thinking for themselves."
"Revolutionary ideas slither off the character armor of the masses because such ideas are appealing to everything that people have had to smother within themselves in order to put up with their own brutalization." -Wilhelm Reich
In the first part of this pithy pamphlet, Brinton sheds light on the failure of purely rational arguments to win people to socialist causes that are in their own interest. Summarizing the ideas of Wilhelm Reich, Brinton points to the authoritarian family structure, and systematic sexual repression, as the hidden roots of people's irrational and seemingly inexplicable fears of joining the fight for freedom and justice.
In the second part, he examines the failures of Soviet Russia to shore up and extend early gains mades in the struggle for sexual freedom after 1917. He points out how closely the emergence of the brutal Stalinist bureaucratic regime in the political realm was mirrored by the rolling back of freedoms in the realms of sexuality, the family, and child-rearing. It is a powerful and illuminating case study that provides ample evidence to support the Reichian theory presented in the first section of the pamphlet.
This short pamphlet presents only a brief overview of Reich's theories-- those interested in finding out more would do well to look at his collection "Sex-Pol", which treats his efforts within the German Communist Party in the 1920s to combat sexual repression through mass organizing, and his book "The Sexual Revolution", which presents his ideas more systematically.
Also, Brinton makes few practical suggestions on how to actually combat sexual repression. The anarchist psychologist and social critic Paul Goodman's masterwork "Gestalt Therapy" develops Reich's early ideas, and presents a wealth of theory and practical exercises for overcoming repression. Also worthy of attention is the "SomaTherapy" developed by the Brazilian anarchist psychologist Roberto Freire.
Publisher: See Sharp Pr
Genre: Social Science
Release: Jan 1993 My Rating: 5
Summary: "The family...and sexual repression...together result in the mass production of individuals perpetually craving authority and leadership, forever afraid of walking on their own and thinking for themselves."
"Revolutionary ideas slither off the character armor of the masses because such ideas are appealing to everything that people have had to smother within themselves in order to put up with their own brutalization." -Wilhelm Reich
In the first part of this pithy pamphlet, Brinton sheds light on the failure of purely rational arguments to win people to socialist causes that are in their own interest. Summarizing the ideas of Wilhelm Reich, Brinton points to the authoritarian family structure, and systematic sexual repression, as the hidden roots of people's irrational and seemingly inexplicable fears of joining the fight for freedom and justice.
In the second part, he examines the failures of Soviet Russia to shore up and extend early gains mades in the struggle for sexual freedom after 1917. He points out how closely the emergence of the brutal Stalinist bureaucratic regime in the political realm was mirrored by the rolling back of freedoms in the realms of sexuality, the family, and child-rearing. It is a powerful and illuminating case study that provides ample evidence to support the Reichian theory presented in the first section of the pamphlet.
This short pamphlet presents only a brief overview of Reich's theories-- those interested in finding out more would do well to look at his collection "Sex-Pol", which treats his efforts within the German Communist Party in the 1920s to combat sexual repression through mass organizing, and his book "The Sexual Revolution", which presents his ideas more systematically.
Also, Brinton makes few practical suggestions on how to actually combat sexual repression. The anarchist psychologist and social critic Paul Goodman's masterwork "Gestalt Therapy" develops Reich's early ideas, and presents a wealth of theory and practical exercises for overcoming repression. Also worthy of attention is the "SomaTherapy" developed by the Brazilian anarchist psychologist Roberto Freire.
Author: James Q. Wilson
Publisher: Free Press
Genre: Social Science
Release: Aug 1993 My Rating: 5
Summary: This is an important book. If one has only one book to read on morality and ethics, I cannot recommend a better book than Wilson's "The Moral Sense." It's the first and, to my knowledge, the only, book that is a thoroughly modern, naturalistic, and intuitionist theory of ethics to date. The book begins with the challenge facing modern readers: Do we accept the total relativism of Rorty and other pragmatic academics who argue there is no moral sense whatsoever, or do we accept the polar opposite that only revealed religion or Kant's and Benthan's absolutist maxims give us a moral sense?
According to Wilson, both extremes are to be avoided by conciliating the theory of moral sentiments advanced by David Hume, Francis Hutcheson, and especially Adam Smith in the 18th century with the theory of evolution advanced by Charles Darwin a century later. Wilson arrives at a thoroughly modern conception of human nature and what it means to have a natural moral sense without prescriptive religion or deontological maxims to guide us. It is a wonderfully entertaining and highly thought provoking book to read on what can sometimes be a dull subject.
Obviously, modern moral developments have not all been positive. As Wilson observes, we've come to our senses about equality, fairness, and empathy towards others, but we may have left behind self-control and duty to others. I think he's absolutely on target. Unless and until we recognize that morality is not divinely-instituted, but rather empirically established by who we are by nature, and yes a Darwinian nature, then our moral sense will be always miss its target. All four: (1) Fairness, (2) empathy, (3) self-control, and (4) duty must operate concurrently for our morality to be balanced. Wilson's diagnosis of modernity is that they are imbalanced: We've largely omitted self-control and duty from our moral sense and become a tad bit self-absorbed (although recent developments may suggest otherwise).
The first-third of the book rehearses the theory of moral sentiments and the applicable theory from evolution to establish the four "impulses" or "intuitions" of morality: Fairness, empathy, self-control, and duty. Notice these are universal, naturally-endowed impulses, not religious or philosophical maxims or prescriptions. We "intuit" these concepts, and from their application with our experience of family, friends, and society, we develop character. This interaction thusly develops a "conscience" to guide us. This is the substance of the second-third of the book. The last-third of the book explains how conscience (i.e., habituated character) forms affiliations, rights, and responsibilities. Here the author's adds his insights and applies them to a few case examples.
The book is not flawless, but it is the most comprehensive, modern, and naturalistic book on ethics to appear in a single volume. That's a mighty claim, but I think it holds despite my criticism. I have two: (a) Wilson tends to be disorganized to the point of distraction; key concepts almost become ancillary. It's a problem of organization that could have been avoided by a matter of style. (b) The second criticism is a kind of sloppiness occurs in the final section: Besides trying to "humanize" his theory excessively, many of his personal reflections are too time-bound to be perennially relevant. These flaws would not be so egregious if the third section kept to a simple summary of key concepts; but instead of a simple summary Wilson addles between a summary and ruminations. Because the third section is perhaps the most expansive, these criticisms are all the more glaring.
For these reasons, I think the reader would be well-served to precede this book with Matt Ridley's "The Origins of Virtue," even though they cover some of the same territory. Ridley is a much more disciplined and focused author, whereas Wilson has a more expansive and developed sense of a intuitionist morality. If one can't read both - and if the reader is careful to focus on the key concepts rather than the supporting evidence and ancillary reflections - then this book is the one to get. Extreme relativism and extreme religiosity are no longer necessarily appropriate for an intuitional moral disposition. Moral balance, based on the four intuitions, are sufficient and necessary for a virtuous life.
Publisher: Free Press
Genre: Social Science
Release: Aug 1993 My Rating: 5
Summary: This is an important book. If one has only one book to read on morality and ethics, I cannot recommend a better book than Wilson's "The Moral Sense." It's the first and, to my knowledge, the only, book that is a thoroughly modern, naturalistic, and intuitionist theory of ethics to date. The book begins with the challenge facing modern readers: Do we accept the total relativism of Rorty and other pragmatic academics who argue there is no moral sense whatsoever, or do we accept the polar opposite that only revealed religion or Kant's and Benthan's absolutist maxims give us a moral sense?
According to Wilson, both extremes are to be avoided by conciliating the theory of moral sentiments advanced by David Hume, Francis Hutcheson, and especially Adam Smith in the 18th century with the theory of evolution advanced by Charles Darwin a century later. Wilson arrives at a thoroughly modern conception of human nature and what it means to have a natural moral sense without prescriptive religion or deontological maxims to guide us. It is a wonderfully entertaining and highly thought provoking book to read on what can sometimes be a dull subject.
Obviously, modern moral developments have not all been positive. As Wilson observes, we've come to our senses about equality, fairness, and empathy towards others, but we may have left behind self-control and duty to others. I think he's absolutely on target. Unless and until we recognize that morality is not divinely-instituted, but rather empirically established by who we are by nature, and yes a Darwinian nature, then our moral sense will be always miss its target. All four: (1) Fairness, (2) empathy, (3) self-control, and (4) duty must operate concurrently for our morality to be balanced. Wilson's diagnosis of modernity is that they are imbalanced: We've largely omitted self-control and duty from our moral sense and become a tad bit self-absorbed (although recent developments may suggest otherwise).
The first-third of the book rehearses the theory of moral sentiments and the applicable theory from evolution to establish the four "impulses" or "intuitions" of morality: Fairness, empathy, self-control, and duty. Notice these are universal, naturally-endowed impulses, not religious or philosophical maxims or prescriptions. We "intuit" these concepts, and from their application with our experience of family, friends, and society, we develop character. This interaction thusly develops a "conscience" to guide us. This is the substance of the second-third of the book. The last-third of the book explains how conscience (i.e., habituated character) forms affiliations, rights, and responsibilities. Here the author's adds his insights and applies them to a few case examples.
The book is not flawless, but it is the most comprehensive, modern, and naturalistic book on ethics to appear in a single volume. That's a mighty claim, but I think it holds despite my criticism. I have two: (a) Wilson tends to be disorganized to the point of distraction; key concepts almost become ancillary. It's a problem of organization that could have been avoided by a matter of style. (b) The second criticism is a kind of sloppiness occurs in the final section: Besides trying to "humanize" his theory excessively, many of his personal reflections are too time-bound to be perennially relevant. These flaws would not be so egregious if the third section kept to a simple summary of key concepts; but instead of a simple summary Wilson addles between a summary and ruminations. Because the third section is perhaps the most expansive, these criticisms are all the more glaring.
For these reasons, I think the reader would be well-served to precede this book with Matt Ridley's "The Origins of Virtue," even though they cover some of the same territory. Ridley is a much more disciplined and focused author, whereas Wilson has a more expansive and developed sense of a intuitionist morality. If one can't read both - and if the reader is careful to focus on the key concepts rather than the supporting evidence and ancillary reflections - then this book is the one to get. Extreme relativism and extreme religiosity are no longer necessarily appropriate for an intuitional moral disposition. Moral balance, based on the four intuitions, are sufficient and necessary for a virtuous life.
Author: Alan Wolfe
Publisher: Penguin (Non-Classics)
Genre: Social Science
Release: Mar 1999 My Rating: 5
Summary: Few academics write as crisply as the sociologist Alan Wolfe, and even fewer are capable of making the penetrating insights that sprinkle the pages of this engaging study of suburban psychology. Based on 200 extensive interviews with middle-class Americans, Wolfe's study uncovers a striking tolerance. Americans, according to the author, can be quite harsh when judging their own behavior, but they exhibit a hands-off approach with others. (Wolfe also cites an exception to this rule: homosexuality.) Americans are not torn apart by any kind of cultural war, contrary to the claims of intellectuals on both the right and left. Instead, writes Wolfe, they are a practical people willing to accept social change. Forget the shallow opinion polls that appear every few days in the news. "One Nation, After All" comes closer to the real pulse of the American people than just about any other you will find.
Publisher: Penguin (Non-Classics)
Genre: Social Science
Release: Mar 1999 My Rating: 5
Summary: Few academics write as crisply as the sociologist Alan Wolfe, and even fewer are capable of making the penetrating insights that sprinkle the pages of this engaging study of suburban psychology. Based on 200 extensive interviews with middle-class Americans, Wolfe's study uncovers a striking tolerance. Americans, according to the author, can be quite harsh when judging their own behavior, but they exhibit a hands-off approach with others. (Wolfe also cites an exception to this rule: homosexuality.) Americans are not torn apart by any kind of cultural war, contrary to the claims of intellectuals on both the right and left. Instead, writes Wolfe, they are a practical people willing to accept social change. Forget the shallow opinion polls that appear every few days in the news. "One Nation, After All" comes closer to the real pulse of the American people than just about any other you will find.
Author: Max Weber
Publisher: Routledge
Genre: Social Science
Release: Nov 1987 My Rating: 5
Summary: First published in 1905 this is one of the most renowned and controversial works of modern social science.
Publisher: Routledge
Genre: Social Science
Release: Nov 1987 My Rating: 5
Summary: First published in 1905 this is one of the most renowned and controversial works of modern social science.
Author: Pascal Boyer
Publisher: Basic Books
Genre: Social Science
Release: Jan 2002 My Rating: 5
Summary: What's it all about? Though we might never answer the really big questions--with good reason--maybe we can understand why we ask them. Cognitive anthropologist Pascal Boyer tackles this topic in the unapologetically titled "Religion Explained", and it is sure to polarize his readers. Some will think it's an impermissible invasion of mental territory beyond the reach of reason; others will see it as the first step toward a more complete understanding of human nature--and Boyer is acutely aware of the emotionally charged nature of his work. This knowledge informs his decision to proceed without caution, as he warns readers early on that most will risk being offended by some of his considerations. Readers who can lay aside their biases will find great rewards here; Boyer's wide scholarship and knack for elegant writing are reasons enough for reading his book.
That gods and spirits are construed very much like persons is probably one of the best-known traits of religion. Indeed, the Greeks had already noticed that people create gods in their own image.... All this is familiar, indeed so familiar that for a long time anthropologists forgot that this propensity requires an explanation. Why then are gods and spirits so much like humans?
Peppering his study with examples from all over the world, particularly the Fang people of Africa, Boyer offers plenty of evidence for his theory that religious institutions exist to maintain particular threads of social integrity. Though he uses the tools of evolutionary psychology, he is more careful than most EP proponents to avoid ad hoc and circular arguments. Best of all, at least to those unmortified at the idea of examining religion critically, his theories are potentially testable. Even if he turns out to be dead wrong, at least "Religion Explained" offers a new and powerful framework for thinking about our spiritual lives. "--Rob Lightner"
Publisher: Basic Books
Genre: Social Science
Release: Jan 2002 My Rating: 5
Summary: What's it all about? Though we might never answer the really big questions--with good reason--maybe we can understand why we ask them. Cognitive anthropologist Pascal Boyer tackles this topic in the unapologetically titled "Religion Explained", and it is sure to polarize his readers. Some will think it's an impermissible invasion of mental territory beyond the reach of reason; others will see it as the first step toward a more complete understanding of human nature--and Boyer is acutely aware of the emotionally charged nature of his work. This knowledge informs his decision to proceed without caution, as he warns readers early on that most will risk being offended by some of his considerations. Readers who can lay aside their biases will find great rewards here; Boyer's wide scholarship and knack for elegant writing are reasons enough for reading his book.
That gods and spirits are construed very much like persons is probably one of the best-known traits of religion. Indeed, the Greeks had already noticed that people create gods in their own image.... All this is familiar, indeed so familiar that for a long time anthropologists forgot that this propensity requires an explanation. Why then are gods and spirits so much like humans?
Peppering his study with examples from all over the world, particularly the Fang people of Africa, Boyer offers plenty of evidence for his theory that religious institutions exist to maintain particular threads of social integrity. Though he uses the tools of evolutionary psychology, he is more careful than most EP proponents to avoid ad hoc and circular arguments. Best of all, at least to those unmortified at the idea of examining religion critically, his theories are potentially testable. Even if he turns out to be dead wrong, at least "Religion Explained" offers a new and powerful framework for thinking about our spiritual lives. "--Rob Lightner"
Author: James Surowiecki
Publisher: Anchor
Genre: Social Science
Release: Aug 2005 My Rating: 5
Summary: In this fascinating book, "New Yorker "business columnist James Surowiecki explores a deceptively simple idea: Large groups of people are "smarter" than an elite few, no matter how brilliant–better at solving problems, fostering innovation, coming to wise decisions, even predicting the future.
With boundless erudition and in delightfully clear prose, Surowiecki ranges across fields as diverse as popular culture, psychology, ant biology, behavioral economics, artificial intelligence, military history, and politics to show how this simple idea offers important lessons for how we live our lives, select our leaders, run our companies, and think about our world.
Publisher: Anchor
Genre: Social Science
Release: Aug 2005 My Rating: 5
Summary: In this fascinating book, "New Yorker "business columnist James Surowiecki explores a deceptively simple idea: Large groups of people are "smarter" than an elite few, no matter how brilliant–better at solving problems, fostering innovation, coming to wise decisions, even predicting the future.
With boundless erudition and in delightfully clear prose, Surowiecki ranges across fields as diverse as popular culture, psychology, ant biology, behavioral economics, artificial intelligence, military history, and politics to show how this simple idea offers important lessons for how we live our lives, select our leaders, run our companies, and think about our world.