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: 9780847683086
• ISBN10: 0847683087
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1996-12-19
• 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	p. 1
Concerning Sociality: The Plural Subject as Paradigm	p. 17
A Definition of Social Phenomena for the Social Sciences	p. 37
The Mark of the Social in the Social Sciences	p. 59
How Many Kinds of Things Are There in the World? The Ontological Status of Societies	p. 81
The Nature and Dynamics of 'The Social' among Humans	p. 105
The Body and the Social	p. 133
Social Explanation	p. 153
The Meaning of 'Social'	p. 183
Crews, Clubs, Crowds, and Classes: 'The Social' as a Discursive Category	p. 199
Social Theory in Context: Relational Humanism	p. 213
Life beyond the Edge of Nature? Or, The Mirage of Society	p. 231
The Reversible Imaginary: Baudrillard and the End of the Social	p. 253
Index	p. 273
About the Contributors	p. 281
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