Biosociology : bridging the biology-sociology divide / Anthony Walsh.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Walsh, Anthony, 1941- author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Sociobiology.

Physical Description:

xix, 285 pages ; 24 cm

Place of Publication:

New Brunswick, New Jersey : Transaction Publishers, [2014]

Summary:

Few issues cause academics to disagree more than gender and race, especially when topics are addressed in terms of biological differences. Anthony Walsh focuses upon such debates and supporting research. He divides parties into biologists and social constructionists, arguing that biologists remain focused on laboratory work, while constructionists are acutely aware of the impact of biologists in contested territories. Science Wars introduces the ideas motivating the parties and examines social constructionism and its issues with science. He explores arguments over conceptual tools scientists love and constructionists abhor, and he provides a solid discussion of the co-evolution of genes and culture. Walsh then focuses his attention on gender, how constructionists view it, and the neuroscience explanation of gender differences; Moving to race, Walsh looks at how some have tried to bury the concept of race, while others emphasize it. He considers definitions of race- essentialist, taxonomic, population, and lineage-as they have evolved from the time of the Enlightenment to the present. And finally, he attempts to bring the opposing sides together by pointing out what each can bring to a meaningful discussion. This volume presents a compelling portrait of sociology's current troubles and proposes a controversial remedy. In the authors' view, sociology's crisis has deep roots, traceable to the over-ambitious sweep of the discipline's founders. Generations of sociologists have failed to focus effectively on the tasks necessary to build a social science. The authors see sociology's most disabling flaw in the failure to discover even a single general law or principle. Lopreato and Crippen argue that unless sociology takes into account central developments in evolutionary science, it will not survive as an academic discipline. This volume argues that participation in the "new social science," exemplified by thriving new fields such as evolutionary psychology, will help to build a vigorous, scientific sociology. Book jacket.

Contents:

1 The Biosocial Perspective and Why Sociology Needs It 1

2 Genetics and Human Social Behavior 21

3 Brain-Culture Interaction and Co-Evolution 43

4 The Reality of Human Nature 63

5 Intelligence and Society 85

6 Culture and Socialization 107

7 Socioeconomic Status 127

8 The Family: Nursery of Human Nature 149

9 Social Constructionism, Social Roles, and Gender 173

10 Crime and Criminals 193

11 Political Economy, Emotion, and Human Nature 215.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9781412852562

1412852560

OCLC:

828264930