The Social Misconstruction of Reality / Richard F. Hamilton

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Hamilton, Richard F., author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Historiography--Case studies.

Historiography.

Knowledge, Sociology of--Case studies.

Knowledge, Sociology of.

Physical Description:

1 online resource

Place of Publication:

New Haven, CT : Yale University Press, [1996]

Language Note:

English

Summary:

From the time of the ancient Greeks, thinkers have known the earth is round. Yet popular legend has persisted that Columbus proved this fact for the first time, and scholarship abounds with similar perpetuated errors. Why do social misconstructions-widely shared, long-lasting acceptance of facts or interpretations that are mistaken-persist when ample evidence is readily available to counter them? How and why are corrections resisted or dismissed? In this provocative book Richard F. Hamilton examines the social determinants of knowledge, focusing on three well-accepted but erroneous social theories and looking closely at the ways social misconstructions originate and thrive.Hamilton finds that despite critiques by historians, some scholars continue to believe Max Weber's claim that a strong linkage between Protestantism and worldly success led to the rise of the capitalist West. Similarly, many academics still argue the discredited view that the German lower middle class voted overwhelmingly for the Nazis. Foucault's flawed interpretation of the "birth of prison" and other disciplinary concepts in modern society finds wide acceptance in many academic circles, despite a lack of serious empirical support. In each of these three cases, the author assesses the logic and empirical accuracy of the accepted theory and alternative theories, and he investigates the social processes giving rise to misconstructions. He finds a remarkable disparity between the presumed commitment of scholars to evidence and their easy acceptance of undocumented argument. His book sounds a clear alert to the academic community.

Contents:

Frontmatter

Contents

List of Tables

Preface

1. On Social Misconstructions

2. Mozart's Poverty, Wellington's Epigram

3. Max Weber and the Protestant Ethic

4. Hitler's Electoral Support

5. The Lower-Middle-Class Thesis

6. Michel Foucault: The Disciplinary Society

7. Some Problems of Intellectual Life

8. Social Misconstruction, Validity, and Verification

Notes

Index

Notes:

Bibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph

Description based on online resource; title from PDF title page (publisher's Web site, viewed 24. Apr 2020)

ISBN:

9780300146028

0300146027

OCLC:

1024003016