Sustainable Consumption Institute

Extract

John Scott has written a rich and impressive work of theoretical exegesis and synthesis, drawing upon a compendious knowledge of the development of the social sciences. Its central chapters describe the evolution of eight fundamental concepts (culture, nature, system, space-time, structure, action, mind, development) which he contends comprise the accumulated core of sociological knowledge and reveal ‘fundamental features of social life that are true universals’ (p. 7). The book contains admirably lucid and concise summaries of the establishment and elaboration of those key concepts. One distinctive feature is its emphasis on foundational work in the first half of the 20th century. Continuity, progress and convergence are demonstrated with reference to precursory formulations, often by now largely forgotten authors like Walter Cannon, Ellsworth Huntington and Ralph Linton, of the principles and mechanisms of explanation included in the current synthesis. (The effect is a little Whiggish!) Another valuable aspect is that relevant research in other disciplines, including geography, social psychology, cognitive neuroscience and genetics, rather than being ignored or dismissed out of hand, is reviewed seriously, sometimes with a view to …

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