The social relevance of perspective established in the sociology of knowledge becomes evident during times of great social change and conflict. Conflict makes for a total functionalizing of thought which is interpreted only in terms of its alleged social, economic, political, or psychological sources and functions. Deepened social conflict today renews the relevance of an old problem in the sociology of knowledge: socially patterned differentials in access to new knowledge. As groups and collectivities become more self-conscious and solidary under conditions of social polarization, their members tend to claim unique or privileged access to certain kinds of knowledge. This can be described as the doctrine of the Insider, which includes the correlative claim that the Outsider has a structurally imposed incapacity for access to such knowledge. Outsider doctrine involves complementary claims of access to knowledge grounded on the assumption of socially based detachment. The rationale of the Insider doctrine i...

https://www.jstor.org/stable/pdfplus/2776569.pdf

Insiders and Outsiders: A Chapter in the Sociology of Knowledge

This paper argues that the experiences of colonialism in Africa have led to the emergence of a unique historical configuration in modern postcolonial Africa: the existence of two publics instead of one public, as in the West. Many of Africa's political problems are due to the dialectical relationships between the two publics. I shall characterize these two publics and attempt to explain some of Africa's political features within the matrix of these publics. In order to give some empirical content to the distinction drawn here, I shall illustrate the issues raised with examples from Nigeria.

https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0010417500007659

Colonialism and the Two Publics in Africa: A Theoretical Statement

Emergent complex systems

We propose that moral condemnation functions to guide bystanders to choose the same side as other bystanders in disputes. Humans interact in dense social networks, and this poses a problem for bystanders when conflicts arise: which side, if any, to support. Choosing sides is a difficult strategic problem because the outcome of a conflict critically depends on which side other bystanders support. One strategy is siding with the higher status disputant, which can allow bystanders to coordinate with one another to take the same side, reducing fighting costs. However, this strategy carries the cost of empowering high-status individuals to exploit others. A second possible strategy is choosing sides based on preexisting relationships. This strategy balances power but carries another cost: Bystanders choose different sides, and this discoordination causes escalated conflicts and high fighting costs. We propose that moral cognition is designed to manage both of these problems by implementing a dynamic coordination strategy in which bystanders coordinate side-taking based on a public signal derived from disputants’ actions rather than their identities. By focusing on disputants’ actions, bystanders can dynamically change which individuals they support across different disputes, simultaneously solving the problems of coordination and exploitation. We apply these ideas to explain a variety of otherwise mysterious moral phenomena.

/pdf/a-solution-to-the-mysteries-of-morality-4upk7d3v5o.pdf

A solution to the mysteries of morality.

Personalization of Mass Media and the Growth of Pseudo-Community

The sociology of knowledge

Sociology of Knowledge

This comprehensive set introduces the fundamental principles of Sociology as propounded by such great figures as Gerth and Mills, Schlesinger, and Homans. Containing classic works of social theory and empirical research, volumes in this set bring together the British, European and American traditions. The whole body of sociological theory is presented in such a way that is valuable and accessible to both students and teachers of Sociology, Political Theory and Geography.

The fundamental forms of social thought

Jeremy Bentham's Economic Writings

The History of Economics

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