Pause for Transition: An Analysis of the Relation of Man Mind and Society

ISBN-13: 9789401185974 / Angielski / Miękka / 1957 / 284 str.

Bart Landheer

Opis

The idea of the present study is basically a simple one. It attempts to reconcile the concept of social evolution with that of the structural unity of Man, an idea that is becoming increasingly dominant in the exact as well as in the social sciences. The idea of structure as it emerges from the social field is applied to the human mind as the ultimate cause of society. While pragmatism interpreted the mind as reacting as a whole, the concept of structure places the relation of Man versus his Environment in a different light, and attempts to determine the possible limits of social development. These problems are analyzed in a number of introductory chapters while the basic approach is illustrated by an analysis of some aspects of the growth of Western civilization. Some fictitious "case-studies" have been added in order to leave room for an imaginative interpretation which sometimes can bring out points which are more difficult to explain in "objective" language.

Spis treści

I Development of the Basic Approach.- I. About Basic Concepts.- II. The Circumference.- III. The Diameter.- IV. The Specific Attribute of the Greeks.- V. Mental Reactions and Social Structure.- VI. Symbols and the Individual. Excerpt from a case-study.- II Application of the Basic Approach to Western Civilization.- VII. The Medieval Attitude.- VIII. The Beginnings of Hedonism.- IX. Reason and Emotion. A case-study.- X. Political Economy Makes Its Appearance.- XI. Rationalism and Enlightenment.- XII. The Social Thinking of the New Era.- XIII. The Reactions to the Hedonistic Period.- XIV. The Decline of Hedonism.- XV. The Virtue of Weakness. A case-study.- XVI. Beginning of a New Culture Period.- XVII. Regional Civilization in Relation to National Cultures.- XVIII. Global Society and Global Organization.- III Reality and Speculation.- XIX. Outlook for the Future.- Bibliographical Notes.- General Index.