In this book, the author proposes a fundamental new approach to the study of one of the most central concepts in social analysis, that of social structure. He critiques the leading models and argues that each is inadequate to the task of explaining the complexity of structures that make up society and the processes by which these structures are formed and are interlinked. A new conceptualization of the processes of societal formation is then presented, drawing on recent developments in the physical, biological and cognitive sciences. This new conceptualization allows for the multiplicity of processes of structuration, which the author refers to as logics, some of which function at the individual or "micro" level, others of which function at the organizational or "meso" level, and still others of which function at the society-wide, or "macro" level. The author terms this new conceptualization a theory of heterarchy, and it is the first truly comprehensive theory of societal structuration.
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"Kontopoulos provides a wonderfully thorough and lucid platform from which to understand and interpret the many complex new developments in social theory." Harrison White, Columbia University
Book Description
In this book, the author proposes an interesting approach to the study of social structure, presenting a conceptualization of the processes of societal formation by drawing on developments in the physical, biological and cognitive sciences.
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Inside This Book
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First Sentence:
One of the most puzzling issues among modern scientists and philosophers has been that of whether or not, for virtually all the domains of nature, higher levels of organization are determined - and therefore also explained - by lower levels of organization. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
neuronic complexes, heterarchical theory, partial decomposability, topological communities, heterarchical view, integrated pluralism, stochastic history, informational strings, hypercyclic organization, indirect interdependence, structured structuring structure, hierarchical emergence, structural emergence, polymorphous sets, constructionist program, diachronic emergence, impaired markets, social exchange systems, epistemic strategies, focal level, interlevel relations, heterarchical organization, modal orientations, contiguous levels, epistemic strategy Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Maynard Smith, Gerald Edelman, Herbert Simon, Prisoner's Dilemma, United States New!
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Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
One of the most puzzling issues among modern scientists and philosophers has been that of whether or not, for virtually all the domains of nature, higher levels of organization are determined - and therefore also explained - by lower levels of organization. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
neuronic complexes, heterarchical theory, partial decomposability, topological communities, heterarchical view, integrated pluralism, stochastic history, informational strings, hypercyclic organization, indirect interdependence, structured structuring structure, hierarchical emergence, structural emergence, polymorphous sets, constructionist program, diachronic emergence, impaired markets, social exchange systems, epistemic strategies, focal level, interlevel relations, heterarchical organization, modal orientations, contiguous levels, epistemic strategy Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Maynard Smith, Gerald Edelman, Herbert Simon, Prisoner's Dilemma, United States New!
Books on Related Topics | Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Citations (learn more)
This book cites 335
books:
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36
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- Continuities in Structural Inquiry by Peter Blau on 6 pages
- Social Structure and Network Analysis (SAGE Focus Editions) by Peter V. Marsden on 4 pages
- The Poverty of Theory: Or an Orrery of Errors by E. P. Thompson on page 192, Back Matter, and Index
- Ulysses and the Sirens: Studies in Rationality and Irrationality by Jon Elster on page 121, Back Matter, and Index
- Molecular Evolution and Protobiology by Koichiro Matsuno in Back Matter (1), Back Matter (2), and Back Matter (3)
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- The Brazilian Popular Church and the Crisis of Modernity (Cambridge Studies in Ideology and Religion) by Manuel A. Vasquez on page 41, and Back Matter
- The Eschatological Economy: Time and the Hospitality of God by Douglas Knight on page 53, and Back Matter
- The Politics of High Tech Growth: Developmental Network States in the Global Economy (Structural Analysis in the Social Sciences) by Sean O'Riain in Front Matter, and Back Matter
- Theories of Communication Networks by Peter R. Monge on page 11, and page 12
- A Structural Theory of Social Influence (Structural Analysis in the Social Sciences) by Noah E. Friedkin in Front Matter
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