The Mark of the Social Discovery or Invention?

by Greenwood, John D.; Gergen, Kenneth J.; Gilbert, Margaret; Gordon, H S.; Harrè, Rom; Ingold, Tim; M. Lee, Raymond I.; Manicas, Peter; Margolis, Joseph; Sandelands, Lloyd; Secord, Paul F.; Turner, Jonathan H.; Wallace, Walter L.

• ISBN13: 9780847683079
• ISBN10: 0847683079
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 1996-12-30
• Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers

Summary

Behavior, language, development, identity, and science--all of these phenomena are commonly characterized as 'social' in nature. But what does it mean to be 'social'? Is there any intrinsic 'mark' of the social shared by these phenomena? In the first book to shed light on this foundational question, twelve distinguished philosophers and social scientists from several disciplines debate the mark of the social. Their varied answers will be of interest to sociologists, anthropologists, philosophers, psychologists, and anyone interested in the theoretical foundations of the social sciences.

Table of Contents

Introduction: The Mark of the Social	1	(16)
John D. Greenwood
1 Concerning Sociality: The Plural Subject as Paradigm	17	(20)
Margaret Gilbert
2 A Definition of Social Phenomena for the Social Sciences	37	(22)
Walter L. Wallace
3 The Mark of the Social in the Social Sciences	59	(22)
Paul F. Secord
4 How Many Kinds of Things Are There in the World? The Ontological Status of Societies	81	(24)
Scott Gordon
5 The Nature and Dynamics of `The Social' among Humans	105	(28)
Jonathan H. Turner
6 The Body and the Social	133	(20)
Lloyd E. Sandelands
7 Social Explanation	153	(30)
Peter T. Manicas
8 The Meaning of `Social'	183	(16)
Joseph Margolis
9 Crews, Clubs, Crowds, and Classes: `The Social' as a Discursive Category	199	(14)
Rom Harre
10 Social Theory in Context: Relational Humanism	213	(18)
Kenneth J. Gergen
11 Life beyond the Edge of Nature? Or, The Mirage of Society	231	(22)
Tim Ingold
12 The Reversible Imaginary: Baudrillard the End of the Social	253	(20)
Raymond L. M. Lee
Index	273	(8)
About the Contributors	281