Abstract
Concerned with the aspects of human behaviour which have been traditionally
described as cultural or social, the author draws on his background
in physics to suggest a scientific approach involving a reconceptualization
of many of our assumed concepts. Are culture, society and similar
concepts from anthropology and sociology of any real use in making
sense of human social life? How can we understand the relationship
between the social group and the individual human beings, with their
self-awareness and sense of personal identity, who make it up? Drawing
on his background in physics, Dr Samuel suggests a scientific approach
involving a reconceptualization of many of the concepts we take for
granted. The multimodal framework, or MMF, derives from this approach.
It incorporates many of the insights of social and cultural anthropology,
particularly the work of Gregory Bateson and Victor Turner, as well
as being influenced by recent developments in the philosophy of science
and related fields. Finally, the book considers some of the implications
of the MMF for biological approaches, and focuses on questions of
brain structure and on evolutionary explanations for human social
behaviour.
Users
Please
log in to take part in the discussion (add own reviews or comments).