The Social Brain: Sociological Foundations

The Social Brain: Sociological Foundations provides a conceptual model of the social brain and challenges the traditional view of the isolated bio-medical brain. It argues that humans are social beings with social selves, brains, and genes and that the "I" is a grammatical illusion reflecting the myth of individualism. The book proposes a novel way of integrating the social self, biological self, and neurological self and erasing the boundaries between brain, mind, and body.

Format: Hardback
Length: 234 pages
Publication date: 30 January 2023
Publisher: Lexington Books

The Social Brain: Sociological Foundations delves into the concept of the social brain, presenting a comprehensive conceptual model that interconnectedly networks the social brain within the world. This notion that our brains are inherently social finds its origins in the nineteenth-century social thought and the pioneering primate research initiated in the 1950s. In 1990, it emerged as a challenge to the traditional notion of the isolated bio-medical brain, a view that continues to dominate scientific, media, and public imaginations. Sal Restivos, the author, posits a foundational thesis that humans arrive on the evolutionary stage as social beings, with social selves, social brains, and social genes. He challenges the notion of the "I" as a grammatical illusion, revealing it as a reflection of the myth of individualism.

What sets this book apart is the extensive dedication it allocates to constructing the sociological scaffolding necessary to comprehend the author's notions of the social self, the social mind, and the social brain. This approach fosters innovative perspectives on socialization, consciousness, and creativity as networked phenomena. Consequently, it offers a novel way of integrating the social self, the biological self, and the neurological self, effectively erasing the classical boundaries between the brain, mind, and body.

Dimension: 229 x 152 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781666927054