Presentist Social Functionalism: Bringing Contemporary Evolutionary Biology to the Social Sciences
This open access book presents and defends a new approach towards social functionalism: Presentist Social Functionalism. This approach draws on recent developments in evolutionary biology and philosophy of biology to provide a more compelling theoretical foundation for functionalist social analysis....
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| Үндсэн зохиолч: | |
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| Формат: | Online |
| Хэл сонгох: | англи |
| Хэвлэсэн: |
Springer Nature
2025
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| Нөхцлүүд: | |
| Онлайн хандалт: | ONIX_20250715T093430_9783031948336_17 |
| Шошгууд: |
Шошго байхгүй, Энэхүү баримтыг шошголох эхний хүн болох!
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| _version_ | 1869517015371218944 |
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| author | Schulz, Armin W. |
| author_browse | Schulz, Armin W. |
| author_facet | Schulz, Armin W. |
| author_sort | Schulz, Armin W. |
| collection | Directory of Open Access Books |
| description | This open access book presents and defends a new approach towards social functionalism: Presentist Social Functionalism. This approach draws on recent developments in evolutionary biology and philosophy of biology to provide a more compelling theoretical foundation for functionalist social analysis. Functionalist approaches to the social sciences—which aim at using facts about what social institutions are for to provide a fulcrum with which to understand, evaluate, and respond to social reality—are about as old as the subject itself, but have also been the subject of much criticism. In particular, a widespread concern for the functionalist tradition in the social sciences is that functional ascriptions often lack a plausible theoretical grounding, and that where such a theoretical grounding can be provided, the empirical presuppositions of this grounding often fail to be met. However, recent developments in evolutionary biology and the philosophy of biology promise to change this situation: they show that functional ascription can be compellingly made in an ahistorical, non-reproduction-based, and non-normative manner, which makes it possible to develop a new account of social functionalism that can fulfil the latter’s theoretical and empirical desiderata. To show this, the book begins by laying out the major existing accounts of social functionalism and detailing their challenges. It then develops the new, alternative account of Presentist Social Functionalism. Given its interdisciplinary nature and application-focused approach, the book is of interest to researchers in a variety of fields, from evolutionary biology to the social sciences and philosophy. |
| format | Online |
| id | doab-20.500.12854ir-162811 |
| institution | Directory of Open Access Books |
| language | eng |
| publishDate | 2025 |
| publishDateRange | 2025 |
| publishDateSort | 2025 |
| publisher | Springer Nature |
| publisherStr | Springer Nature |
| record_format | ojs |
| spelling | doab-20.500.12854ir-1628112025-07-16T05:00:46Z Presentist Social Functionalism: Bringing Contemporary Evolutionary Biology to the Social Sciences Schulz, Armin W. Functionalism Function Cultural evolution Missing Mechanism Selected effects Presentism Corporation Corruption Artifact Presentist social functionalism thema EDItEUR::Q Philosophy and Religion::QD Philosophy thema EDItEUR::P Mathematics and Science::PS Biology, life sciences thema EDItEUR::P Mathematics and Science::PS Biology, life sciences::PSA Life sciences: general issues::PSAJ Evolution thema EDItEUR::P Mathematics and Science::PS Biology, life sciences::PSC Developmental biology thema EDItEUR::J Society and Social Sciences::JH Sociology and anthropology::JHM Anthropology This open access book presents and defends a new approach towards social functionalism: Presentist Social Functionalism. This approach draws on recent developments in evolutionary biology and philosophy of biology to provide a more compelling theoretical foundation for functionalist social analysis. Functionalist approaches to the social sciences—which aim at using facts about what social institutions are for to provide a fulcrum with which to understand, evaluate, and respond to social reality—are about as old as the subject itself, but have also been the subject of much criticism. In particular, a widespread concern for the functionalist tradition in the social sciences is that functional ascriptions often lack a plausible theoretical grounding, and that where such a theoretical grounding can be provided, the empirical presuppositions of this grounding often fail to be met. However, recent developments in evolutionary biology and the philosophy of biology promise to change this situation: they show that functional ascription can be compellingly made in an ahistorical, non-reproduction-based, and non-normative manner, which makes it possible to develop a new account of social functionalism that can fulfil the latter’s theoretical and empirical desiderata. To show this, the book begins by laying out the major existing accounts of social functionalism and detailing their challenges. It then develops the new, alternative account of Presentist Social Functionalism. Given its interdisciplinary nature and application-focused approach, the book is of interest to researchers in a variety of fields, from evolutionary biology to the social sciences and philosophy. 2025-07-16T05:00:46Z 2025-07-16T05:00:46Z 2025-07-15T07:37:58Z 2025 book ONIX_20250715T093430_9783031948336_17 https://library.oapen.org/handle/20.500.12657/104158 9783031948336 9783031948329 https://directory.doabooks.org/handle/20.500.12854/162811 eng Foundations for Interdisciplinarity in the Life Sciences: Concise Monographs open access image/jpeg n/a https://library.oapen.org/bitstream/20.500.12657/104158/1/9783031948336.pdf Springer Nature Springer Nature Switzerland 10.1007/978-3-031-94833-6 10.1007/978-3-031-94833-6 9fa3421d-f917-4153-b9ab-fc337c396b5a b1c0c058-c0b4-4528-bd54-33ae86cba090 dc45f593-383b-4976-ba67-2918dc56a746 9783031948336 9783031948329 Springer Nature Switzerland 113 Cham [...] John Templeton Foundation Fundação John Templeton 10.13039/100000925 open access |
| spellingShingle | Functionalism Function Cultural evolution Missing Mechanism Selected effects Presentism Corporation Corruption Artifact Presentist social functionalism thema EDItEUR::Q Philosophy and Religion::QD Philosophy thema EDItEUR::P Mathematics and Science::PS Biology, life sciences thema EDItEUR::P Mathematics and Science::PS Biology, life sciences::PSA Life sciences: general issues::PSAJ Evolution thema EDItEUR::P Mathematics and Science::PS Biology, life sciences::PSC Developmental biology thema EDItEUR::J Society and Social Sciences::JH Sociology and anthropology::JHM Anthropology Schulz, Armin W. Presentist Social Functionalism: Bringing Contemporary Evolutionary Biology to the Social Sciences |
| title | Presentist Social Functionalism: Bringing Contemporary Evolutionary Biology to the Social Sciences |
| title_full | Presentist Social Functionalism: Bringing Contemporary Evolutionary Biology to the Social Sciences |
| title_fullStr | Presentist Social Functionalism: Bringing Contemporary Evolutionary Biology to the Social Sciences |
| title_full_unstemmed | Presentist Social Functionalism: Bringing Contemporary Evolutionary Biology to the Social Sciences |
| title_short | Presentist Social Functionalism: Bringing Contemporary Evolutionary Biology to the Social Sciences |
| title_sort | presentist social functionalism bringing contemporary evolutionary biology to the social sciences |
| topic | Functionalism Function Cultural evolution Missing Mechanism Selected effects Presentism Corporation Corruption Artifact Presentist social functionalism thema EDItEUR::Q Philosophy and Religion::QD Philosophy thema EDItEUR::P Mathematics and Science::PS Biology, life sciences thema EDItEUR::P Mathematics and Science::PS Biology, life sciences::PSA Life sciences: general issues::PSAJ Evolution thema EDItEUR::P Mathematics and Science::PS Biology, life sciences::PSC Developmental biology thema EDItEUR::J Society and Social Sciences::JH Sociology and anthropology::JHM Anthropology |
| topic_facet | Functionalism Function Cultural evolution Missing Mechanism Selected effects Presentism Corporation Corruption Artifact Presentist social functionalism thema EDItEUR::Q Philosophy and Religion::QD Philosophy thema EDItEUR::P Mathematics and Science::PS Biology, life sciences thema EDItEUR::P Mathematics and Science::PS Biology, life sciences::PSA Life sciences: general issues::PSAJ Evolution thema EDItEUR::P Mathematics and Science::PS Biology, life sciences::PSC Developmental biology thema EDItEUR::J Society and Social Sciences::JH Sociology and anthropology::JHM Anthropology |
| url | ONIX_20250715T093430_9783031948336_17 |
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