The First Institutional Spheres in Human Societies Evolution and Adaptations from Foraging to the Threshold of Modernity

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Synopsis

Few concepts are as central to sociology as institutions. Yet, like so many sociological concepts, institutions remain vaguely defined. This book expands a foundational definition of the institution, one which locates them as the basic building blocks of human societies—as structural and cultural machines for survival that make it possible to pass precious knowledge from one generation to the next, ensuring the survival of our species. The book extends this classic tradition by, first, applying advances in biological evolution, neuroscience, and primatology to explain the origins of human societies and, in particular, the first institutional sphere: kinship. The authors incorporate insights from natural sciences often marginalized in sociology, while highlighting the limitations of purely biogenetic, Darwinian explanations. Secondly, they build a vivid conceptual model of institutions and their central dynamics as the book charts the chronological evolution of kinship, polity, religion, law, and economy, discussing the biological evidence for the ubiquity of these institutions as evolutionary adaptations themselves.

Book details

Series:
Evolutionary Analysis in the Social Sciences
Author:
Seth Abrutyn, Jonathan H. Turner
ISBN:
9781000471243
Related ISBNs:
9781003224433, 9781032124131, 9781032124087
Publisher:
Taylor and Francis
Pages:
472
Reading age:
Not specified
Includes images:
Yes
Date of addition:
2022-03-16
Usage restrictions:
Copyright
Copyright date:
2022
Copyright by:
Taylor & Francis 
Adult content:
No
Language:
English
Categories:
Nonfiction, Social Studies, Sociology