Sociology, science, and the end of philosophy : how society shapes brains, gods, maths, and logics

This Book Offers A Unique Analysis Of How Ideas About Science And Technology In The Public And Scientific Imaginations (in Particular About Maths, Logic, The Gene, The Brain, God, And Robots) Perpetuate The False Reality That Values And Politics Are Separate From Scientific Knowledge And Its Applications. These Ideas Are Reinforced By Cultural Myths About Free Will And Individualism. Restivo Makes A Compelling Case For A Synchronistic Approach In The Study Of These Notoriously 'hard' Cases, Arguing That Their Significance Reaches Far Beyond The Realms Of Science And Technology, And That Their Sociological And Political Ramifications Are Of Paramount Importance In Our Global Society. This Innovative Work Deals With Perennial Problems In The Social Sciences, Philosophy, And The History Of Science And Religion, And Will Be Of Special Interest To Professionals In These Fields, As Well As Scholars Of Science And Technology Studies.-- Machine Generated Contents Note: 1. Prologue -- 2. The Science Of Society -- 3. What About The Gene And What About The Brain? -- 4. The Social Lives Of Minds And Brains -- 5. Thinking Machines: Flesh And Metal, Metal And Flesh -- 6. God And Society: Emile Durkheim And The Rejection Of Transcendence -- 7. The Social Construction Of Mathematics -- 8. What Can A Sociologist Say About Logic? -- 9. Conclusion: The Liminal Context. Sal Restivo. Includes Bibliographical References And Index.. Sociology, Science, and the End of Philosophy 3 A Note on the Bibliographical Epilogues 5 Acknowledgements 6 Contents 8 List of Tables 10 List of Boxes 11 1 Prologue 12 Part 1: Requiem for Plato and the Gods 12 Part 2: The Postmodern Context 19 Bibliographical Epilogue for the Prologues 35 General Bibliography 41 2 The Science of Society 42 The Discovery of Society 42 Science and Society 46 The World we Live in 53 The Third-Culture of Science 60 The High and Low Traditions in Sociology 66 The Contemporary Rediscovery of the Social 74 Arrogant Innocence and Ignorance Among the Philosophers 80 Coda 83 Bibliographical Epilogue for Chapter 2 84 General Bibliography 90 3 What About the Gene and What About the Brain? 91 What about the Brain? 98 Bibliographical Epilogue for Chapter 3 103 General Bibliography 104 4 The Social Lives of Minds and Brains 105 Beginnings 105 Interlude on Philosophy 106 The Social Mind 108 The Social Brain: A Prelude in the Postmodern Context 122 The Social Brain: Second Prelude – on Bodies and Information 125 The Social Brain 133 Toward a Sociology of the Brain 138 What is it with the Brain These Days? 145 The Social Brain: Implications for Understanding and Treating Brain and Mind in Health and Illness 149 Thinking in Networks 149 Informing the Brain/Mind/Body/Culture System 150 The Social Brain in Evolution 153 Summation: The Brain and Human Behavior 154 Conclusion: Critique and Renewal 157 Bibliographical Epilogue for Chapter 4 158 General Bibliography 172 5 Thinking Machines: Flesh and Metal, Metal and Flesh 175 Introduction: Technology, the Very Idea 175 The Coming of the Robosapiens 181 Social Robots 183 Social Robots Redux 187 Robots and Theology 189 Robots, AI, and Sociology 194 Bibliographical Epilogue for Chapter 5 198 General Bibliography 200 Morals, Ethics, and Robots 200 Animal Minds 201 AI and Robotics 202 On “Robosapiens” 205 6 God and Society: Emile Durkheim and the Rejection of Transcendence 206 Critical Tools for Thinking about Religions and Gods 210 Reflective Interlude 210 First Criticism 220 Human Survival and the Big Questions 223 The Emperor’s New Clothes 223 Concluding Sections: We Can Still Tell the Truth 238 Closing the Door on Pure Reason 240 Epilogue: A Social Science and Historical Evidentiary 242 Coda: Sociology Meets Theology 251 Bibliographical Epilogue for Chapter 6 253 General Bibliography 255 7 The Social Construction of Mathematics 262 Anti-Plato 264 The Social Structure of Mathematics 265 Number Facts 266 God and Math 267 Pure Mathematics 269 Mathematics, Community, and Self-Reference 285 Mathematics in the World and in the Schools 288 General Bibliography 290 8 What Can a Sociologist Say about Logic? 291 Toward an Archaeology of Logic 295 The Sociology of Logic 297 Conclusion 311 Bibliographic Epilogue for Chapters 7 and 8 315 General Bibliography 318 9 Conclusion: The Liminal Context 319 Epilogue: A Final Moment in the Dialogue between Sociology, Philosophy, and Science 323 Bibliographical Epilogue for Chapter 9 329 General Bibliography 329 Appendix 1€ Moments in the History of the Science of Society 330 Appendix 2€ Modeling the Social Brain: Updated Version of the Restivo-Weiss Model of the Social Brain 340 Index 342 Front Matter....Pages i-xiii Prologue....Pages 1-30 The Science of Society....Pages 31-79 What About the Gene and What About the Brain?....Pages 81-94 The Social Lives of Minds and Brains....Pages 95-164 Thinking Machines: Flesh and Metal, Metal and Flesh....Pages 165-195 God and Society: Emile Durkheim and the Rejection of Transcendence....Pages 197-252 The Social Construction of Mathematics....Pages 253-281 What Can a Sociologist Say about Logic?....Pages 283-310 Conclusion: The Liminal Context....Pages 311-321 Back Matter....Pages 323-370