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Social Emergence R. Keith Sawyer (Washington University, St Louis)

Social Emergence By R. Keith Sawyer (Washington University, St Louis)

Social Emergence by R. Keith Sawyer (Washington University, St Louis)


$45.99
Condition - Very Good
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Summary

Sawyer addresses a key issue in sociology, the relation between the individual and the group. He argues that societies are complex dynamical systems, and that the best way to resolve the debates between sociologists, psychologists and economists is by developing the concept of emergence focusing on multiple levels of analysis.

Social Emergence Summary

Social Emergence: Societies As Complex Systems by R. Keith Sawyer (Washington University, St Louis)

Can we understand important social issues by studying individual personalities and decisions? Or are societies somehow more than the people in them? Sociologists have long believed that psychology can't explain what happens when people work together in complex modern societies. In contrast, most psychologists and economists believe that if we have an accurate theory of how individuals make choices and act on them, we can explain pretty much everything about social life. Social Emergence takes a new approach to these longstanding questions. Sawyer argues that societies are complex dynamical systems, and that the best way to resolve these debates is by developing the concept of emergence, focusing on multiple levels of analysis - individuals, interactions, and groups - and with a dynamic focus on how social group phenomena emerge from communication processes among individual members. This book makes a unique contribution not only to complex systems research but also to social theory.

Social Emergence Reviews

'... I enjoyed reading this book. It is clearly written and describes challenging theories in an accessible way. I also found it thought provoking for my own research.' Journal of Artificial Societies and Social Simulation

About R. Keith Sawyer (Washington University, St Louis)

R. Keith Sawyer is Associate Professor of Education at Washington University. He is the author or editor of six previous books, including Group Creativity and Improvised Dialogues. He has also published a wide range of scholarly journal articles on contemporary issues in sociological theory and on computational modeling of societies.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements; 1. Emergence, complexity, and social science; 2. Emergence, complexity, and the third wave of social systems theory; 3. The history of emergence; 4. Emergence in psychology; 5. Emergence in sociology; 6. Durkheim's theory of social emergence; 7. Emergence and elisionism; 8. Simulating social emergence with artificial societies; 9. Communication and improvisation; 10. The Emergence paradigm.

Additional information

GOR008959419
9780521606370
0521606373
Social Emergence: Societies As Complex Systems by R. Keith Sawyer (Washington University, St Louis)
Used - Very Good
Paperback
Cambridge University Press
2005-10-27
288
N/A
Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.
This is a used book - there is no escaping the fact it has been read by someone else and it will show signs of wear and previous use. Overall we expect it to be in very good condition, but if you are not entirely satisfied please get in touch with us

Customer Reviews - Social Emergence