Searchers, Seers, and Shakers: Masters of Social Science

Voorkant
Transaction Publishers, 2007 - 178 pagina's

This volume offers intellectual portraits of eleven giants of the modern social sciences. It is bound by two central themes. The first is that there is a fundamental unity behind the various forms of social science. There is a general social science as well as a variety of social science disciplines. The second theme is that a biographical approach is a useful tool for making clear some of the central ideas of social science. By looking at the lives and achievements of selected "masters," we should be better able to understand the fundamental nature (or natures) of social science. In order to determine which figures should be regarded as "masters" Schellenberg defines the three main kinds of work he sees as central for social science. First is the work of basic discovery done by "searchers" who made especially important contributions to empirical work in the social sciences. The persons he selected for special treatment here are Louis Leakey, Mary Leakey, Margaret Mead, and B. F. Skinner. He then considers the work of theory, choosing for examination "seers" who had made especially important theoretical contributions: John Dewey, Talcott Parsons, and Kenneth Boulding. Schellenberg next examines those social scientists who worked to seek changes in society. These were the "shakers" or social reformers. In Schellenberg's view these come in three main subtypes, and he sought to include at least one example of each--Gunnar Myrdal and Alva Myrdal as social engineers, C. Wright Mills as a rebellious social critic, and Daniel Patrick Moynihan as one whose contribution was made more directly into the world of politics. Schellenberg's exploration of the lives of these eleven masters of twentieth-century social science reveals many surprises and ironies. While he points out major contributions, he also has felt free to make criticisms. As he has said: "These were all real persons, with failings and foibles, as well as persons of great achievement. I felt that the examination of their lives could give us many interesting insights into the development of contemporary social science."

 

Geselecteerde pagina's

Inhoudsopgave

The Coming of Social Science
3
The Three Bases of Social Science
17
Louis and Mary Leakey and the Dawn of Humanity
25
Margaret Mead and the Varieties of Human Culture
35
BF Skinner and the Principles of Operant Behavior
49
John Dewey and the Social Logic of Inquiry
63
Talcott Parsons and the Synthesis of Social Theory
75
Kenneth Boulding Economist Without Boundaries
87
Gunnar and Alva Myrdal Social Science as Social Engineering
99
C Wright Mills The Social Scientist as Rebel
115
Daniel Patrick Moynihan The Social Scientist as Politician
127
Masters of Social Science
147
Notes
159
Bibliography
167
Index
173
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Over de auteur (2007)

James A. Schellenberg is professor emeritus of sociology, Indiana State University. He is the author of An Introduction to Social Psychology, Masters of Social Psychology, The Science of Conflict, Conflict Between Communities, Primitive Games, An Invitation to Social Psychology, Exploring Social Behavior, and Conflict Resolution: Theory, Research, and Practice.

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