The Evolution of Human Sociality - Hardcover

Sanderson, Stephen K.

3.8

5 ratings by Goodreads

9780847695348: The Evolution of Human Sociality

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0847695344 ISBN 13: 9780847695348

Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 2001

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This book attempts a broad theoretical synthesis within the field of sociology and its closely allied sister discipline of anthropology. It draws together what the author considers the best of these disciplinesO theoretical approaches into a synthesized theory called Darwinian conflict theory. This theory, in the most general sense, is a synthesis of the tradition of economic and ecological materialism and conflict theory stemming from Marx, Marvin Harris, and the tradition of biological materialism deriving from Darwin. The first half of the book is taken up with critiques of existing theoretical approaches; this then leads to the full elaboration, in formal propositional form, of synthetic theory. The second half of the book lays out the large amount of evidence, both qualitative and quantitative, that supports the synthesized theory.

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About the Author:

Stephen K. Sanderson is professor of sociology at Indiana University of Pennsylvania.

Review:

An emphatically original work. . . . The book makes the point quite forcibly that sociology makes no sense unless it is anchored, not only in evolutionary biology, but also in anthropology. (Pierre L. van den Berghe)

Stephen Sanderson is one of the leading figures in the world today among scholars trying to reconnect the social and biological sciences. His new book is cutting-edge. It is a unique argument, bound to excite, irritate, and initiate lively debate. No one else has said what he is saying in this book. The argument is extremely well organized, and the author writes in an engaging manner. (Alexandra Maryanski)

This is a break-through in sociological theory, demonstrating how a powerful new conflict theory can be framed from Neo-Darwinian, Marxian, Weberian, and other sources. (Dr. Peter Meyer)

The best parts of Sanderson's book are the early sections, where he reviews and critiques the major existing paradigms of sociology, including functionalism, Marxism, and sociobiology. (Choice)

Stephen Sanderson's The Evolution of Human Sociality provides a serious and wide-ranging treatise on sociobiology, its relationship to other styles of social explanation, and its pertinence to various domains of social life. Sanderson has given us a highly commendable work, and one that would surely benefit our discipline if its contentions were widely read and seriously engaged. (Contemporary Sociology)

Stephen Sanderson's most recent book provides a powerful corrective to the current fragmented state of sociological theorizing. Sanderson's principal aim is to construct a viable theoretical foundation for sociology. He attempts a synthesis of ideas drawn primarily from conflict, exchange, cultural materialist, and sociobiologial theoretical premises. He then employs these tools to assess several topics that are of continuing interest to sociologists--the nature of human sexuality, gender relations and the family; the evolution of systems of economic behavior; the nature and transformation of dominance orders in human societies; and the nature of the politics of war. But the value of his contribution is found in the variety of topics and the scope of empirical evidence that he is able to handle successfully by reference to his synthesized theoretical principles. (Timothy Crippen)

This ambitious book is chock full of telling criticisms and worthy efforts at interdisciplinary synthesis. I hope that sociologists read it and take it seriously, and any evolutionist who is willing to push on despite finding nits to pick will get a lot out of it, too. (Quarterly Review Of Biology)

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