Moral Time

Conflict is ubiquitous and inevitable, but people generally dislike it and try to prevent or avoid it as much as possible. So why do clashes of right and wrong occur? And why are some more serious than others? In Moral Time , sociologist Donald Black presents a new theory of conflict that provides answers to these and many other questions. The heart of the theory is a completely new concept of social time. Black claims that the root cause of conflict is the movement of social time, including relational, vertical, and cultural time--changes in intimacy, inequality, and diversity. The theory of moral time reveals the causes of conflict in all human relationships, from marital and other close relationships to those between strangers, ethnic groups, and entire societies. Moreover, the theory explains the origins and clash of right and wrong not only in modern societies but across the world and across history, from conflict concerning sexual behavior such as rape, adultery, and homosexuality, to bad manners and dislike in everyday life, theft and other crime, racism, anti-Semitism, anti-Americanism, witchcraft accusations, warfare, heresy, obscenity, creativity, and insanity. Black concludes by explaining the evolution of conflict and morality across human history, from the tribal to the modern age. He also provides surprising insights into the postmodern emergence of the right to happiness and the expanding rights of humans and non-humans across the world. Moral Time offers an incisive, powerful, and radically new understanding of human conflict--a fundamental and inescapable feature of social life. Conflict is Ubiquitous and Inevitable, but people generally dislike it and try to prevent or avoid it as much as possible. So why do clashes of right and wrong occur? And why are some more serious than others? In Moral Time, sociologist Donald Black presents a new theory of conflict that provides answers to these and many other questions. The heart of the theory is a completely new concept of social time. Black claims that the root cause of conflict is the movement of social time, including relational, vertical, and cultural timeùchanges in intimacy, inequality, and diversity. The theory of moral time reveals the causes of conflict in all human relationships, from marital and other close relationships to those between strangers, ethnic groups, and entire societies. Moreover, the theory explains the origins and clash of right and wrong not only in Modern societies but across the world and across history, from Conflict concerning sexual behavior such as rape, adultery, and homosexuality, to bad manners and dislike in everyday life, theft and other crime, racism, anti-Semitism, anti-Americanism, witchcraft accusations, warfare, heresy, obscenity, creativity, and insanity. Black concludes by explaining the evolution of-conflict and morality across human history, from the tribal to the modern age. He also provides surprising insights into the postmodern emergence of the right to happiness and the expanding rights of human, and non-humans across the world. Moral Time offers an incisive, powerful, and radically new understanding of human conflictùa fundamental and inescapable feature of social life. --Book Jacket Half Title......Page 1 Full Title......Page 3 Copyright......Page 4 Contents......Page 7 Preface......Page 11 1 Introduction......Page 17 PART I : RELATIONAL TIME......Page 33 2 Overintimacy......Page 35 3 Underintimacy......Page 57 PART II : VERTICAL TIME......Page 71 4 Overstratification......Page 73 5 Understratification......Page 96 PART III : CULTURAL TIME......Page 113 6 Overdiversity......Page 115 7 Underdiversity......Page 134 8 Conclusion......Page 151 Notes......Page 167 References......Page 215 Name Index......Page 279 Subject Index......Page 291 Introduction. The nature of social time. The origin of conflict. Right and wrong Overintimacy. Overinvolvement. Overexposure Underintimacy. Underinvolvement. Underexposure Overstratification. Oversuperiority. Overinferiority Understratification. Undersuperiority. Underinferiority Overdiversity. Overtraditionalism. Overinnovation Underdiversity. Undertraditionalism. Underinnovation Conclusion. The geometry of social time. Tribal time. Modern time. Postmodern time. Why do clashes of right and wrong occur? When will they occur? And why are some clashes worse than others? In Moral Time, Donald Black presents a general theory of conflict, drawing on a wide range of cultural and historical examples to explain this fundamental and inescapable aspect of social life.