Major Post Question Options (Please select at least one question from the list below):
Major Post: Your original post should be at least 150 substantive words. When answering the question(s), you should attempt to critically engage with the literature. This means going beyond a summary of what the textbook says about the topic. Rather, you should use that as a starting point for your own contribution.
Minor Posts: You must also respond to at least two (2) of your classmates’ posts in a substantive manner. Response posts should be at least 150 words each. It is not acceptable to repeat information from your original post in your response post to a classmate. Your response posts should propel the conversation started by your classmate forward. Posts consisting only of “I agree” or “Hello X, I enjoyed your post,” and so forth will receive no credit.
CHAPTER 15
SOCI 1013.50, 1013.51, 1013.52 – Introductory Sociology
Fall 2021
Dr. Ray Reagan
aray1@twu.edu
Looking Back: The Divergent Path
•
It is clear that our species’ development has been different from all other life on
the planet
•
Genetic changes provided our ancestors with the ability to create symbol systems
•
Symbol systems allowed hominids to harness the power of learning from
individual experience
•
Hominid societies came to depend on cultural information in adaptation
•
Human evolution came to be shaped primarily by the processes of cultural
innovation and selection, rather than by the processes of biological evolution
Diversity
•
In the case of cultural information, all diversity is concentrated within the single
species Homo sapiens
•
Despite a common genetic heritage, different cultures and societies have created
human individuals that are far more varied than members of any other species
•
Culture’s capacity for diversity has also resulted in a variety of needs and desires,
even those which are not directly related to our survival as individuals or as a
species
•
Humans have established a new and unique relationship with the biophysical
environment because our diverse needs and desires have further pushed
technological development
•
In this sense, diversity is both a tool for survival potential and a major source of
problems
Progress
•
Although culture has been a great adaptive tool that allows humans to
flourish in terms of population size, this is not enough to base an
assessment of human evolution
•
Assessing progress is difficult because it applies to countless aspects of
human life
•
Additionally, progress is typically measured as a product of past
experience, which varies considerably from society to society
•
Determining progress for sociologists includes a study of the cultural
information that has allowed different societies to advance or stall.
Progress: Freedom
•
Modern industrial societies attach high premiums to concept of freedom
from both repressive social control (i.e. laws) and natural restraints (i.e.
disease).
•
It is clear that humanity’s struggle to advance technologically is bound to a
desire for freedom – for example, better sailing technology to cross oceans
faster and safer than ever.
•
Because advances in technology is directly tied to increased populations,
technological process has necessitated larger and more complex social
systems
•
It is important to note that more technology does not necessarily equal
more freedom, due to the role of governments and other parts of social
systems in regulating safe technological advancement and human
interaction
Progress: Justice
•
Justice is considered the fairness of a society in the treatment of its
members, but there is no universal definition of justice
•
Social inequality becomes more pronounced as societies advance
technologically and as status becomes increasingly dependent on family
•
In general, societies seem to become more fair and more just as they adopt
industrialization, although there are still major issues in terms of
discrimination and unequal criminal justice
Progress: Happiness
•
Happiness is difficult to measure because it depends deeply on
interpersonal relationship
•
Technological advancement has increased the average lifespan of
individuals, leading to overall better health and more time spent with loved
ones
•
Hunger has also been significantly affected by technological advancement,
as new harvesting, growing, storage, and processing techniques have
emerged to feed more people
•
Household income tends to be a strong indicator of happiness
•
However, as with freedom and justice, there is no one-to-one relationship
between technological advancement and happiness
Looking Ahead: Some Guidelines
•
Sociologists need to be aware that some potential developments that
could alter human societies cannot be anticipated
•
Sociologists need to focus on the problems of future societies, most of
which will invariably stem from problems in current societies
•
The better a prediction is grounded in tested analyses of the past and the
present, the more likely that prediction will be successful.
Looking Ahead: Population
•
Rapidly increasing population sizes is one of the greatest challenges human
societies face today
•
However, the major question is how exactly the inevitable decline of
population will come about
•
Many predictors include: the inability of the planet to sustain growing
population rates; decreasing rates of child birth; and the migration of
people between countries
Looking Ahead: Natural Resources
•
As the population size increases, so too will the demand for natural
resources
•
In terms of energy, oil and natural gas production are expected to continue
to meet the needs of the population in diverse climates and locations
•
Alternative energy sources, such as nuclear energy, solar energy, and plantbased biofuel, have emerged to varying degrees of success
•
Food sources, water supplies, and arable lands have also become major
concerns for future population, with arable lands and sources of fresh water
being lost at dramatic rates
•
Biological diversity is also being threatened by population growth, as more
technological advancement has resulted in damaging pollutants affecting
natural environments and the life within them
Looking Ahead: Technology
•
Technological advance has been an important factor in shaping past and
present world systems
•
The rate of change depends on the magnitude of existing stores of
information, the size of populations, and communication between societies
•
The content of such change mainly reflects an improved end-use efficiency
of machines used in society, economic ways of recycling or disposing
waste, population control, solutions for hunger, the advancements of
electronics, and the engineering of genes in plants, bacteria, and humans
Looking Ahead: Ideology
•
A striking change in ideology has been the fall of Marxist ideologies and the
rise of militant fundamentalist Islam
•
The militant fundamentalist Islam deviates from traditional Islamic
teaching but has become a dominant political force in North Africa, the
Middle East, and southern Asia
•
Outside of the Muslim world, dominant ideologies include pragmatism,
capitalism, and (especially among young people) hedonism
Looking Ahead: Polity
•
The most striking political trend is the spread of democracy in conjunction with
industrialization
•
However, because democracy is an entirely different system compared to others,
it is often slowly adopted by countries
•
Terrorism is increasingly used as a political weapon thanks to the advancement of
modern technology and friction between societies
Looking Ahead: Economy
•
As a whole, it can be predicted that economic growth will continue for the world
system
•
A number of industrializing agrarian societies are likely to become fully
industrialized by the end of the next quarter century
•
The spread of capitalism and the fall of support for socialist systems have played a
large role in continuing growth in the world economy
•
The increasing power of multinational corporations, the trend of increasing
division of labor in the world system, and the cost of disposing waste materials are
primary areas of concern for future studies
Looking Ahead: The World System
•
As world systems become increasing integrated, societies will become more
reliant on each other
•
As the volume and importance of international trade increases, societies in other
parts of the world may well initiate similar programs
•
Issues such as economic threats and war that affect an entire world system will
affect every nation
•
War is an increasing concern, as the rapid advancement of technology has led to
increased potential for nuclear and cyber warfare
Looking Ahead: The World System 2
•
The creation of a world government with the authority, mechanisms, and power
to monitor and control the use of weapons is likely to develop
•
However, major economic discrepancies threaten the formation and the
maintenance of a so-called world government
•
Another issue to the development of a world polity is terrorist action by political
movements in a country