The invention of society : psychological explanations for social phenomena
Author(s)
Bibliographic Information
The invention of society : psychological explanations for social phenomena
Polity Press, 1996
- : pbk
- Other Title
-
La machine à faire des dieux
Available at 15 libraries
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  Niigata
  Toyama
  Ishikawa
  Fukui
  Yamanashi
  Nagano
  Gifu
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  Aichi
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  Kyoto
  Osaka
  Hyogo
  Nara
  Wakayama
  Tottori
  Shimane
  Okayama
  Hiroshima
  Yamaguchi
  Tokushima
  Kagawa
  Ehime
  Kochi
  Fukuoka
  Saga
  Nagasaki
  Kumamoto
  Oita
  Miyazaki
  Kagoshima
  Okinawa
  Korea
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  United Kingdom
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  France
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Note
Translation of: La Machine à faire des dieux. [Paris] : Fayard, 1988
Includes bibliographical references (p. [370]-392) and index
"Winner of the European Amalfi Prize for Sociology and Social Theory"--Cover
Description and Table of Contents
Description
This brilliant and original book sets out to dismantle the idea that movements, crises and other phenomena produced in society must be explained by exclusively social causes, without recourse to psychological explanations.
The author argues that we should reassess the significance of psychological causes in human affairs. Whilst psychological causes are undoubtedly distinct from social causes, all social phenomena are events or facts brought about by human beings: it is their passions which stimulate their great political, religious and cultural creations. He discusses the work of Durkehim, Mauss, Weber and Simmel, and argues that only a productive interplay between psychology and sociology will do justice to the interdisciplinary character of their thought.
Winner of the European Amalfi Prize for Sociology, The Invention of Sociology will be welcomed by students and researchers in sociology, social psychology, and the social sciences generally.
Table of Contents
Acknowledgements. Introduction: The Problem.
Part I: Religion and Nature as the Origins of Society.
1. The Machine for the Creation of Gods.
2. Crimes and Punishments.
3. A Science Difficult to Name.
Part II: The Power of the Idea.
4. Social 'Big Bangs'.
5. The Genius of Capitalism.
6. The Mana and the Numina. .
Part III: One of the Greatest Mysteries in the World. .
7. The Science of Forms.
8. Money as Passion and as Representation.
9. The World that has Vanished.
Concluding Remarks.
Notes.
Index.
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