Overview

Based upon the interdependencies of human beings as we cooperate and conflict with each other, how we share information, and how culture evolves, this book proposes a sociology of humanity covering three hundred millennia. Grounded in empirical findings from archaeology, history, lab experiments, and field studies – supplemented for precision with computational network models of cultural evolution, cooperation, influence, cohesion, warfare, power, social balance, and inequality – this is the first attempt at encompassing sociology of humankind. Informed by the theory of cultural evolution, it extends the notion that cultural evolution connects humans of all times in a giant sociocultural network, thereby yielding coherence between a great many empirical findings. It will therefore appeal to scholars of sociology and anthropology with interests in historical sociology, cultural evolution, and social theory.

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9781032608570

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Reviews

'An elegant, condensed theoretical model, with a synthesis of far-flung research literatures and advanced simulation models.' – Randall Collins, Professor Emeritus, University of Pennsylvania, USA, and author of Charisma: Micro-sociology of Power and Influence 'Foragers are theoretically very important as so much of our evolutionary history is represented by people we call foragers. The author has done his homework very well on foragers. They are commonly treated by non-specialists in a simplistic way and that is emphatically not the case here.' - Peter J. Richerson, Distinguished Professor Emeritus, University of California Davis, USA 'This book is a rare attempt of providing a wider perspective on the topic of cultural dynamics, providing a comprehensive look at sociology, psychology, behavioral science, cooperation, economics, innovation, competition, group formation, statistics, networks, etc. It does something that is nowadays out of fashion: it provides a framework that is general enough to encompass––as the title states––the topics of culture, cooperation and conflict––a framework that allows one to place the different aspects of these fields on a map, but can also be quantified and is compatible with large datasets. Putting things on a map is extremely helpful: first it helps to see what is unknown, and second what should be studied together; something like a compass for interdisciplinarity––not for its own sake, but to genuinely understand cultural dynamics. The book is a joy to read. It is intellectually entertaining of the best kind. It is a free tour through the history and most relevant developments in many of the social sciences in the last century or so, valuable both as an overview and for learning details that you did not know before.' - Stefan Thurner, Professor for Science of Complex Systems, Medical University of Vienna, and author of The Theory of Complex Systems 'An elegant, condensed theoretical model, with a synthesis of far-flung research literatures and advanced simulation models.' – Randall Collins, Professor Emeritus, University of Pennsylvania, USA, and author of Charisma: Micro-sociology of Power and Influence 'Foragers are theoretically very important as so much of our evolutionary history is represented by people we call foragers. The author has done his homework very well on foragers. They are commonly treated by non-specialists in a simplistic way and that is emphatically not the case here.' - Peter J. Richerson, Distinguished Professor Emeritus, University of California Davis, USA 'This book is a rare attempt of providing a wider perspective on the topic of cultural dynamics, providing a comprehensive look at sociology, psychology, behavioral science, cooperation, economics, innovation, competition, group formation, statistics, networks, etc. It does something that is nowadays out of fashion: it provides a framework that is general enough to encompass––as the title states––the topics of culture, cooperation and conflict––a framework that allows one to place the different aspects of these fields on a map, but can also be quantified and is compatible with large datasets. Putting things on a map is extremely helpful: first it helps to see what is unknown, and second what should be studied together; something like a compass for interdisciplinarity––not for its own sake, but to genuinely understand cultural dynamics. The book is a joy to read. It is intellectually entertaining of the best kind. It is a free tour through the history and most relevant developments in many of the social sciences in the last century or so, valuable both as an overview and for learning details that you did not know before.' - Stefan Thurner, Professor for Science of Complex Systems, Medical University of Vienna, and author of The Theory of Complex Systems

'An elegant, condensed theoretical model, with a synthesis of far-flung research literatures and advanced simulation models.' – Randall Collins, Professor Emeritus, University of Pennsylvania, USA, and author of Charisma: Micro-sociology of Power and Influence 'Foragers are theoretically very important as so much of our evolutionary history is represented by people we call foragers. The author has done his homework very well on foragers. They are commonly treated by non-specialists in a simplistic way and that is emphatically not the case here.' - Peter J. Richerson, Distinguished Professor Emeritus, University of California Davis, USA 'An elegant, condensed theoretical model, with a synthesis of far-flung research literatures and advanced simulation models.' – Randall Collins, Professor Emeritus, University of Pennsylvania, USA, and author of Charisma: Micro-sociology of Power and Influence 'Foragers are theoretically very important as so much of our evolutionary history is represented by people we call foragers. The author has done his homework very well on foragers. They are commonly treated by non-specialists in a simplistic way and that is emphatically not the case here.' - Peter J. Richerson, Distinguished Professor Emeritus, University of California Davis, USA

Author Information

Jeroen Bruggeman is Associate Professor of Sociology at the University of Amsterdam, the Netherlands, and the author of Social Networks: An Introduction.

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