The Invention of Society: Psychological Explanations for Social PhenomenaISBN: 978-0-7456-1839-5
Paperback
416 pages
January 1991, Polity
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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.