Sociology and evolutionary biology: A troubled past, a promising future

2020 ◽  
Vol 35 (2) ◽  
pp. 138-150
Author(s):  
Russell K Schutt
Keyword(s):  
Social Science ◽  
Human Brain ◽  
Evolutionary Psychology ◽  
Comparative Research ◽  
Evolutionary Biology ◽  
Evolutionary Analysis ◽  
Present Value ◽  
Comprehensive Review ◽  
History Of

The New Evolutionary Sociology offers a comprehensive review of the history of evolutionary analysis in sociology that demonstrates its present value ‘once old biases and prejudices are mitigated and, eventually, eliminated’ (p. 14). In the book’s first part, the authors highlight the prominence of evolution in the theorizing of sociology’s founders and the reaction against this approach when it was used to support ethnocentrism, racism, and fascism. The second part describes non-sociologists’ attempts to reconnect evolutionary biology and social science through sociobiology and evolutionary psychology. The book’s last part presents new evolutionary approaches within sociology, focusing primarily on comparative research with primates and a neurosociological explanation of the evolution of the human brain.

scholarly journals Memahami Sensionalisme dalam Berita Televisi: Perspektif Evolusi Biologi

2020 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Gentur Agustinus Naru
Keyword(s):  
Human Brain ◽  
Evolutionary Biology ◽  
Evolutionary Process ◽  
Time Difference ◽  
Evolutionary Perspective ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Relationship

Although there have been many studies regarding sensationalism on television, there have not been enough studies to explain why sensational news always attracts viewers' attention regardless of space or time difference. Encouraged by this background, this research tries to answer the question, "What makes sensational news interesting to television viewers?" Inspired by a biological evolutionary perspective, this article formulates a hypothesis that reads, "Sensationalism can draw the attention of the audience because sensational news arouses the most basic instincts of humans, namely the mode of survival (Gurven, 2017)". In this view, the model has become inherent in humans as a result of the evolutionary process. In other words, this hypothesis also believes that audience interest in sensational news is universal rather than contextual.   This article explores a variety of literature in biology, psychology, and communication to try to answer that hypothesis. In order to that, this article is divided into three main sections. We will first explore the history of sensational journalism on television to show the historicity of sensational topics and techniques on television. Second, we will demonstrate the philosophical roots of an evolutionary biology view that explains the relationship between information stimuli and the workings of the human brain and the basic instincts we have carried since evolution thousands of years ago. Finally, we will show studies that prove empirically how news patterns (both sensational topics and production formats) impact viewing interest.

Beérkezett könyvek

2005 ◽  
Vol 60 (3) ◽  
pp. 425-427
Author(s):  
Csaba Pléh
Keyword(s):  
Social Interaction ◽  
Cognitive Science ◽  
Evolutionary Psychology ◽  
Well Being ◽  
General Intelligence ◽  
Human Thought ◽  
Number Of Genes ◽  
History Of ◽  
Origin Of Mind ◽  
The Mind

Ádám György: A rejtozködo elme. Egy fiziológus széljegyzetei Carpendale, J. I. M. és Müller, U. (eds): Social interaction and the development of knowledge Cloninger, R. C.: Feeling good. The science of well being Dunbar, Robin, Barrett, Louise, Lycett, John: Evolutionary psychology Dunbar, Robin: The human story. A new history of makind's evolution Geary, D. C.: The origin of mind. Evolution of brain, cognition and general intelligence Gedeon Péter, Pál Eszter, Sárkány Mihály, Somlai Péter: Az evolúció elméletei és metaforái a társadalomtudományokban Harré, Rom: Cognitive science: A philosophical introduction Horváth György: Pedagógiai pszichológia Marcus, G.: The birth of the mind. How a tiny number of genes creates the complexities of human thought Solso, R. D.: The psychology of art and the evolution of the conscious brain Wray, A. (ed.): The transition to language

scholarly journals Molecular evolutionary analysis of human primary microcephaly genes

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Nashaiman Pervaiz ◽  
Hongen Kang ◽  
Yiming Bao ◽  
Amir Ali Abbasi
Keyword(s):  
Evolutionary History ◽  
Genetic Basis ◽  
Brain Size ◽  
Primate Species ◽  
Evolutionary Analysis ◽  
Australopithecus Afarensis ◽  
Primary Microcephaly ◽  
Modern Humans ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Brain

Abstract Background There has been a rapid increase in the brain size relative to body size during mammalian evolutionary history. In particular, the enlarged and globular brain is the most distinctive anatomical feature of modern humans that set us apart from other extinct and extant primate species. Genetic basis of large brain size in modern humans has largely remained enigmatic. Genes associated with the pathological reduction of brain size (primary microcephaly-MCPH) have the characteristics and functions to be considered ideal candidates to unravel the genetic basis of evolutionary enlargement of human brain size. For instance, the brain size of microcephaly patients is similar to the brain size of Pan troglodyte and the very early hominids like the Sahelanthropus tchadensis and Australopithecus afarensis. Results The present study investigates the molecular evolutionary history of subset of autosomal recessive primary microcephaly (MCPH) genes; CEP135, ZNF335, PHC1, SASS6, CDK6, MFSD2A, CIT, and KIF14 across 48 mammalian species. Codon based substitutions site analysis indicated that ZNF335, SASS6, CIT, and KIF14 have experienced positive selection in eutherian evolutionary history. Estimation of divergent selection pressure revealed that almost all of the MCPH genes analyzed in the present study have maintained their functions throughout the history of placental mammals. Contrary to our expectations, human-specific adoptive evolution was not detected for any of the MCPH genes analyzed in the present study. Conclusion Based on these data it can be inferred that protein-coding sequence of MCPH genes might not be the sole determinant of increase in relative brain size during primate evolutionary history.

Studying National Commemoration and Political Celebrations in Africa: The Online Archive African Independence Days

2020 ◽  
Vol 2019 ◽  
pp. vii-xxviii
Author(s):  
Marie-Christin Gabriel ◽  
Carola Lentz
Keyword(s):  
Burkina Faso ◽  
Comparative Research ◽  
Democratic Republic ◽  
Nation Building ◽  
African Countries ◽  
Research Project ◽  
Online Archive ◽  
Republic Of The Congo ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Many

AbstractThe Department of Anthropology and African Studies (ifeas) at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz hosts a comprehensive archive on African Independence Day celebrations. Created in 2010, the archive is one of the outcomes of a large comparative research project on African national days directed by Carola Lentz. It offers unique insights into practices of as well as debates on national commemoration and political celebrations in Africa. The archive holds more than 28,000 images, including photographs, newspaper articles, documents, and objects from twelve African countries: Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Côte d'Ivoire, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Gabon, Ghana, Madagascar, Mali, Namibia, Nigeria, and Tanzania. It primarily consists of an online photo and newspaper archive (https://bildarchiv.uni-mainz.de/AUJ/; https://www.blogs.uni-mainz.de/fb07-ifeas-eng/departmental-archives/online-archive-african-independence-days/); some of the material is also stored in the physical archive on African Independence Days at ifeas as well as in the department's ethnographic collection (https://www.blogs.uni-mainz.de/fb07-ifeas-eng/ethnographic-collection/). Most of the material concerns recent celebrations, but the collection has been complemented by some documentation of earlier festivities. Archives hold many stories while they also have a story to tell in their own right. This article discusses both aspects. It first traces the history of the Online Archive African Independence Days at ifeas. It then provides an overview of the different categories of material stored in the archive and tells a few of the many stories that the photos, texts and objects contain. We hope to demonstrate that the archive holds a wealth of sources that can be mined for studies on national commemoration and political celebrations in Africa, and, more generally, on practices and processes of nation-building and state-making.

scholarly journals Slavery and Its Transformations: Prolegomena for a Global and Comparative Research Agenda

2021 ◽  
Vol 63 (3) ◽  
pp. 566-598
Author(s):  
Matthias van Rossum
Keyword(s):  
Comparative Research ◽  
Research Agenda ◽  
Analytical Framework ◽  
The Body ◽  
Indonesian Archipelago ◽  
Research Perspectives ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Indian Ocean ◽  
Contemporary Development

AbstractThis article argues that we need to move beyond the “Atlantic” and “formal” bias in our understanding of the history of slavery. It explores ways forward toward developing a better understanding of the long-term global transformations of slavery. Firstly, it claims we should revisit the historical and contemporary development of slavery by adopting a wider scope that accounts for the adaptable and persistent character of different forms of slavery. Secondly, it stresses the importance of substantially expanding the body of empirical observations on trajectories of slavery regimes, especially outside the Atlantic, and most notable in the Indian Ocean and Indonesian Archipelago worlds, where different slavery regimes existed and developed in interaction. Thirdly, it proposes an integrated analytical framework that will overcome the current fragmentation of research perspectives and allow for a more comparative analysis of the trajectories of slavery regimes in their highly diverse formal and especially informal manifestations. Fourth, the article shows how an integrated framework will enable a collaborative research agenda that focuses not only on comparisons, but also on connections and interactions. It calls for a closer integration of the histories of informal slavery regimes into the wider body of existing scholarship on slavery and its transformations in the Atlantic and other more intensely studied formal slavery regimes. In this way, we can renew and extend our understandings of slavery's long-term, global transformations.

scholarly journals The Tale of the Dueling Neurosurgeons. A Contribution to the Neurosciences and Neurosurgery

2019 ◽  
Vol 38 (03) ◽  
pp. 250-252
Author(s):  
Gilvan Aguiar da Silva ◽  
Elton Gomes da Silva ◽  
Seidel Guerra López
Keyword(s):  
Human Brain ◽  
Present Article ◽  
Critical Review ◽  
Current Issue ◽  
Lower Number ◽  
Neuroscience Research ◽  
History Of ◽  
Lay Public

AbstractIn the present article, we elaborate a critical review of the book “The Tale of the Dueling Neurosurgeons: The History of the Human Brain as Revealed by True Stories of Trauma, Madness, and Recovery”, written by Sam Kean. In our opinion, this book can contribute to the dissemination of neurosciences to the lay public, but it can also have an important role: to increase the interest of medicine students in neurosciences and research, since an increasingly lower number of students declare they have this interest. Thus, this book can be an important tool to deal with a pertinent and current issue under debate in the neuroscience research and neurosurgery communities.

scholarly journals The dimensions of streaming: toward a typology of an evolving concept

2020 ◽  
Vol 42 (7-8) ◽  
pp. 1210-1225 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hendrik Storstein Spilker ◽  
Terje Colbjørnsen
Keyword(s):  
Comparative Research ◽  
Live Streaming ◽  
General Audience ◽  
Industrial History ◽  
On Demand ◽  
History Of ◽  
Media Research ◽  
Key Dimensions

Based on research on the development of streaming solutions across media forms and industries, this article traces the dynamics and dimensions of the notion of streaming. It theorizes streaming as an evolving concept, and argues against strict, set and limited definitions such as those suggested by Lotz and Herbert et al. A short substantive and industrial history of streaming is provided, recognizing its many manifestations and variations. Five key dimensions are identified, and trends and traits within each of them discussed: (1) professional versus user-generated streaming, (2) legal versus piracy streaming, (3) on-demand versus live streaming, (4) streaming on dedicated versus multi-feature platforms, and (5) niche versus general-audience streaming. The article concludes by pointing out how streaming is a concept that metaphorically unites media research across industries, practices, and media forms, encouraging more comparative research.

Glancing Back, Striding Ahead

2003 ◽  
Vol 93 (4) ◽  
pp. 315-320 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard T. Bouché
Keyword(s):  
American Academy ◽  
Present State ◽  
Sports Medicine ◽  
Early Years ◽  
Comprehensive Review ◽  
History Of ◽  
Time Periods ◽  
Future Direction

This article provides a succinct but comprehensive review of the history of the American Academy of Podiatric Sports Medicine. Three time periods are described: the pre-academy era, the early years of podiatric sports medicine leading up to the academy’s founding, and the academy’s founding and the 1970s. An appreciation of the academy’s past facilitates understanding of its present state and future direction. (J Am Podiatr Med Assoc 93(4): 315-320, 2003)

Yves R. Simon: A Philosopher's Quest for Science and Prudence

2009 ◽  
Vol 71 (1) ◽  
pp. 68-84
Author(s):  
Walter Nicgorski
Keyword(s):  
Social Science ◽  
History Of Philosophy ◽  
American Democracy ◽  
Social Conformity ◽  
Democratic Government ◽  
Jacques Maritain ◽  
History Of ◽  
Philosophical Life ◽  
Influential Book

AbstractThis essay treats the inspiration and nature of Yves Simon's philosophical life. His embrace of that life was importantly shaped by his engagement with the republican tradition in France, his passionate opposition to the fascist threat to France, and his later attachment to the aspirations of American democracy. However, his early philosophical interests took direction and inspiration from his encounter with Jacques Maritain who drew him to Thomism. His devotion to the truth was fierce, and he confronted honestly the threats to this defining quality of philosophical life from the pressures of social conformity and from the discouragement of seeing the inadequacies and disagreements in the history of philosophy. He came, as especially evident in his most influential book, Philosophy of Democratic Government, to esteem highly the virtue of prudence, seeking to protect it from both philosophy and social science.

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