Social Evolutionism and Historicism
SOCIAL EVOLUTIONISM & HISTORICISM
(Aguilar, Alexa Nicole Dizon, Isabela Maquimot, Jaimee Faye) * Introduction to Social/Sociocultural Evolutionism
Commonalities among Classical Theories * Social Evolution is the process by which structural reorganization is affected through time, eventually producing a form or structure which is qualitatively different from the ancestral form. * Society is inevitable to change. * Societies start out in a primitive state and gradually become more civilized over time, and equated the culture and technology of Western civilization with progress. * The end-point among theorists was usually the image of the mid-19th Century Industrialized England (Age of Enlightenment).
Concept of “PRIMITIVE to CIVILIZED” Expounded
2 Types: 1. STADIAL HISTORY - a society will always start from a primitive state and will eventually progress through 3 stages: COLONIALISM > INDUSTRIALIZATION > PROGRESS EX. * Scottish Enlightenment * French Revolution IMPERIALISM > INDUSTRIALIZATION > PROGRESS 2. CONJECTURAL HISTORY theorists believed that all societies go through 4 stages: hunting & gathering, pastoralism & nomadism, agriculture, commerce.
Conditions that triggered the development of Evolutionism 1. Influence of Darwin’s theory of biological evolution = triggered the theory of Organicism that was adopted by most of the proponents in social evolutionism a. Societies/cultures evolve & do not remain static. 2. Exposure to colonist factors: b. Migration c. Colonization d. Trade e. Commerce
* CLASSICAL EVOLUTIONISM
Major Proponents and their Theories
Herbert Spencer * FIRST PRINCIPLES (1862) * First signs of the thought of evolution. * Evolution is the analysis of societal movement from simple (homogeneous) forms to differentiated (heterogeneous) forms. * Evolution revolves around the process of
(Aguilar, Alexa Nicole Dizon, Isabela Maquimot, Jaimee Faye) * Introduction to Social/Sociocultural Evolutionism
Commonalities among Classical Theories * Social Evolution is the process by which structural reorganization is affected through time, eventually producing a form or structure which is qualitatively different from the ancestral form. * Society is inevitable to change. * Societies start out in a primitive state and gradually become more civilized over time, and equated the culture and technology of Western civilization with progress. * The end-point among theorists was usually the image of the mid-19th Century Industrialized England (Age of Enlightenment).
Concept of “PRIMITIVE to CIVILIZED” Expounded
2 Types: 1. STADIAL HISTORY - a society will always start from a primitive state and will eventually progress through 3 stages: COLONIALISM > INDUSTRIALIZATION > PROGRESS EX. * Scottish Enlightenment * French Revolution IMPERIALISM > INDUSTRIALIZATION > PROGRESS 2. CONJECTURAL HISTORY theorists believed that all societies go through 4 stages: hunting & gathering, pastoralism & nomadism, agriculture, commerce.
Conditions that triggered the development of Evolutionism 1. Influence of Darwin’s theory of biological evolution = triggered the theory of Organicism that was adopted by most of the proponents in social evolutionism a. Societies/cultures evolve & do not remain static. 2. Exposure to colonist factors: b. Migration c. Colonization d. Trade e. Commerce
* CLASSICAL EVOLUTIONISM
Major Proponents and their Theories
Herbert Spencer * FIRST PRINCIPLES (1862) * First signs of the thought of evolution. * Evolution is the analysis of societal movement from simple (homogeneous) forms to differentiated (heterogeneous) forms. * Evolution revolves around the process of
References: * (Turner, Beeghley, & Powers, 2002, pp. 54-89) * Turner, Jonathan H., Beeghley, Leonard, & Powers, Charles H. (2002). The Emergence of Sociological Theory (5th ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Thomson Learning. * Sanderson, Stephen K., et al. (1997). “Evolutionism and its Critics.” Journal of World-System Research 3:94-114. * Morgan, Lewis H. (1877). “Ancient Society.” Chapter 3: Ratio of Human Progress. * Burrow, J.W. (). “Evolution and Society: A Study in Victorian Social Theory.” * Dr. Elwell, Frank. “A Note on Evolutionary Theory in Sociology” * http://spruce.flint.umich.edu/~simoncu/269/boas.htm * http://www.infoplease.com/encyclopedia/people/boas-franz.html * http://www.sociologyguide.com/social-change/evolutionary-theories.php * Wikipedia