LEADER 04415nam 2200589 450 001 9910496137303321 005 20230731000152.0 010 $a0-585-27417-7 010 $a0-520-91561-5 024 7 $a10.1525/9780520915619 035 $a(CKB)111057870443188 035 $a(MH)002799585-2 035 $a(DE-B1597)542925 035 $a(DE-B1597)9780520915619 035 $a(OCoLC)1153460682 035 $a(MiAaPQ)EBC30495573 035 $a(Au-PeEL)EBL30495573 035 $a(EXLCZ)99111057870443188 100 $a20230731d1993 uy 0 101 0 $aeng 135 $aur||#|||||||| 181 $ctxt$2rdacontent 182 $cc$2rdamedia 183 $acr$2rdacarrier 200 14$aThe Human difference $eanimals, computers, and the necessity of social science /$fAlan Wolfe 205 $aReprint 2019 210 1$aBerkeley, California :$cUniversity of California Press,$d[1993] 210 4$dİ1993 215 $a1 online resource (xvii, 243 p. ) 311 0 $a0-520-08941-3 311 0 $a0-520-08013-0 320 $aIncludes bibliographical references and index. 327 $tFront matter --$tContents --$tPreface --$tAcknowledgments --$tChapter One. A Distinct Science for a Distinct Species --$tChapter Two. Other Animal Species and Us --$tChapter Three. Mind, Self, Society, and Computer --$tChapter Four. Putting Nature First --$tChapter Five. The Post-modern Void --$tChapter Six. Social Science as a Way of Knowing --$tChapter Seven. Society on Its Own Terms --$tNotes --$tBibliography --$tIndex 330 $aAre we losing touch with our humanity? Yes, contends Alan Wolfe in this provocative critique of modern American intellectual life. From ecology, sociobiology, and artificial intelligence to post-modernism and the social sciences, Wolfe examines the antihumanism underlying many contemporary academic trends. Animal rights theorists and "ecological extremists" too often downplay human capacities. Computers are smarter than we are and will soon replace us as the laws of evolution continue to unfold. Even the humanities, held in sway by imported theories that are explicitly antihumanistic in intention, have little place for human beings. Against this backdrop, Wolfe calls for a return to a moral and humanistic social science, one in which the qualities that distinguish us as a species are given full play. Tracing the development of modern social theory, Wolfe explores the human-centered critical thinking of eighteenth- and nineteenth-century scholars, now eclipsed by post-modern and scientistic theorizing. In the work of Durkheim, Marx, Weber, and Mead, human beings are placed on the center stage, shaping and interpreting the world around them. Sociology in particular emerged as a distinct science because the species it presumed to understand was distinct as well. Recent intellectual trends, in contrast, allow little room for the human difference. Sociobiology underlines the importance of genetics and mathematically governed evolutionary rules while downplaying the unique cognitive abilities of humans. Artificial intelligence heralds the potential superiority of computers to the human mind. Post-modern theorizing focuses on the interpretation of texts in self-referential modes, rejecting humanism in any form. And mainstream social science, using positivist paradigms of human behavior based on the natural sciences, develops narrow and arid models of 330 8 $asocial life. Wolfe eloquently makes a case for a new commitment to humanistic social science based on a realistic and creative engagement with modern society. A reconstituted social science, acknowledging our ability to interpret the world, will thrive on a recognition of human difference. Nurturing a precious humanism, social science can celebrate and further refine our unique capacity to create morality and meaning for ourselves. 606 $aSocial sciences$xMethodology 606 $aSociobiology 606 $aSociology$xMethodology 606 $aHuman ecology 615 0$aSocial sciences$xMethodology. 615 0$aSociobiology. 615 0$aSociology$xMethodology. 615 0$aHuman ecology. 676 $a301 700 $aWolfe$b Alan$f1942-$0235000 801 0$bMiAaPQ 801 1$bMiAaPQ 801 2$bMiAaPQ 906 $aBOOK 912 $a9910496137303321 996 $aThe Human Difference$92866613 997 $aUNINA