Crisis in Sociology : the Need for Darwin / Joseph Lopreato.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Lopreato, Joseph, author.

Contributor:

Crippen, Timothy.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Sociology--Research.

Sociology.

Social Darwinism.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (278 pages)

Edition:

First edition.

Place of Publication:

London : Taylor and Francis, 2017.

Summary:

"Crisis in Sociology 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. This makes it impossible to systematically organize empirical observations, guide inquiry by suggesting falsifiable hypotheses, or form the core of a genuinely cumulative body of knowledge. Absent such a theoretical tool, sociology can aspire to little more than an amorphous mass of hunches and disconnected facts. The condition engenders confusion and unproductive debate. It invites fragmentation and predation by applied social disciplines, such as business administration, criminal justice, social work, and urban studies. Even more dangerous are incursions by prestigious social sciences and by branches of evolutionary biology that constitute the frontier of the current revolution in behavioral science. Lopreato and Crippen argue that unless sociology takes into account central developments in evolutionary science, it will not survive as an academic discipline. Crisis in Sociology 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. The authors analyze research on such subjects as sex roles, social stratification, and ethnic conflict, showing how otherwise disconnected features of the sociological landscape can in fact contribute to a theoretically coherent and cumulative body of knowledge."--Provided by publisher.

Contents:

Part, 1 From Early Promise to Deepening Crisis / Joseph Lopreato Timothy Crippen

chapter 1 The Early Promise / Joseph Lopreato Timothy Crippen

chapter 2 The Deepening Crisis / Joseph Lopreato Timothy Crippen

chapter 3 Why the Crisis: A Sketch / Joseph Lopreato Timothy Crippen

part, 2 Elements of Evolutionary Theory / Joseph Lopreato Timothy Crippen

chapter 4 Darwin's Theory of Natural Selection / Joseph Lopreato Timothy Crippen

chapter 5 Elements of Evolutionary Behavioral Science / Joseph Lopreato Timothy Crippen

part, 3 Select Adaptations and Applications / Joseph Lopreato Timothy Crippen

chapter 6 Fundamentals of Sex Differences / Joseph Lopreato Timothy Crippen

chapter 7 An Uneasy Alliance / Joseph Lopreato Timothy Crippen

chapter 8 Fundamentals of Social Stratification / Joseph Lopreato Timothy Crippen

chapter 9 The Clannish Brain / Joseph Lopreato Timothy Crippen.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and indexes.

Description based on print version record.

ISBN:

1-351-32019-X

1-351-32020-3

1-351-32018-1

9781351320207

OCLC:

1004027198