Douglas A Marshall
Biographic Data
| ID | 175674 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Douglas A Marshall |
| GIVEN NAMES | Douglas A |
| FAMILY NAME | Marshall |
| SIGNATURE | MARSHALL D A |
| AFFILIATIONS | University of South Alabama |
| VERIFIED | No |
| TOTAL WORKS | 8 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 51 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 8 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2002 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2021 |
| H-INDEX | 4 |
Rationality
Rationality” is a singularly central concept to sociology, beginning with the discipline's origins. Most famously and influentially, Max Weber posited the process of “rationalization” as the central organizing principle of the modern world. Later, rational choice theory aimed to supersede previous sociological theories and claimed to explain social behavior with an approach built upon the assumption that all social actors behave rationally. In th…
The Moral Origins of God
A socio-evolutionary theory of the origin of “God” is presented. Its starting point is behavioral duplexity, the fact that human beings are subject to two parallel modes of behavioral control: an older nonconscious system, and a newer conscious one. The theory posits that the fabrication of, and subsequent belief in, supernatural entities (“Gods”) is a predictable byproduct of the interaction of these two systems. Specifically, because human bein…
The Rewards of Punishment
Temptation, Tradition, and Taboo
A theory of sacralization is offered in which the sacred emerges from the collision of temptation and tradition. It is proposed that when innate or acquired desires to behave in one way conflict with socially acquired and/or mediated drives to behave in another way, actors ascribe sacredness to the objects of their action as a means of reconciling the difference between their desired and actual behavior toward those objects. After establishing th…
Taking The Rhetoric Out of Theoretic Debate
Michalski's (2008) Michalski, Joseph H. 2008. “The Social Life of Pure Sociology.” The Sociological Quarterly 49(2):253–73.[Taylor & Francis Online] , [Google Scholar] critique of Marshall (2008) Marshall, Douglas A. 2008. “The Dangers of Purity: On the Incompatibility of Pure Sociology and Science.” The Sociological Quarterly 49(2):209–35.[Taylor & Francis Online], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar] is rebutted. It is demonstrated that Michal…
The Dangers of Purity
Donald Black insists that sociology must be purged of its psychological elements in order to become a genuinely distinct and scientific discipline. But such “purification” is simultaneously unnecessary, undesirable, and unattainable. It is unnecessary because the scientific shortcomings of sociology are indigenous and have nothing to do with psychologism. Indeed, a more scientific sociology would look more, not less, like psychology. Purity is un…
Product Review
Behavior, Belonging, and Belief
A new model of ritual based on Durkheim's ([1912] 1995) theory is developed. It is argued that ritual practices generate belief and belonging in participants by activating multiple social-psychological mechanisms that interactively create the characteristic outcomes of ritual. Specifically, the distinctive elements of ritual practice are shown to induce altered subjective states and effortful and/or anomalous behaviors, which are subsequently mis…
Behavior, Belonging, and Belief
A new model of ritual based on Durkheim's ([1912] 1995) theory is developed. It is argued that ritual practices generate belief and belonging in participants by activating multiple social-psychological mechanisms that interactively create the characteristic outcomes of ritual. Specifically, the distinctive elements of ritual practice are shown to induce altered subjective states and effortful and/or anomalous behaviors, which are subsequently mis…
Temptation, Tradition, and Taboo
A theory of sacralization is offered in which the sacred emerges from the collision of temptation and tradition. It is proposed that when innate or acquired desires to behave in one way conflict with socially acquired and/or mediated drives to behave in another way, actors ascribe sacredness to the objects of their action as a means of reconciling the difference between their desired and actual behavior toward those objects. After establishing th…
The Dangers of Purity
Donald Black insists that sociology must be purged of its psychological elements in order to become a genuinely distinct and scientific discipline. But such “purification” is simultaneously unnecessary, undesirable, and unattainable. It is unnecessary because the scientific shortcomings of sociology are indigenous and have nothing to do with psychologism. Indeed, a more scientific sociology would look more, not less, like psychology. Purity is un…
The Rewards of Punishment
Behavior, Belonging, and Belief
A new model of ritual based on Durkheim's ([1912] 1995) theory is developed. It is argued that ritual practices generate belief and belonging in participants by activating multiple social-psychological mechanisms that interactively create the characteristic outcomes of ritual. Specifically, the distinctive elements of ritual practice are shown to induce altered subjective states and effortful and/or anomalous behaviors, which are subsequently mis…
Product Review
Taking The Rhetoric Out of Theoretic Debate
Michalski's (2008) Michalski, Joseph H. 2008. “The Social Life of Pure Sociology.” The Sociological Quarterly 49(2):253–73.[Taylor & Francis Online] , [Google Scholar] critique of Marshall (2008) Marshall, Douglas A. 2008. “The Dangers of Purity: On the Incompatibility of Pure Sociology and Science.” The Sociological Quarterly 49(2):209–35.[Taylor & Francis Online], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar] is rebutted. It is demonstrated that Michal…
The Dangers of Purity
Donald Black insists that sociology must be purged of its psychological elements in order to become a genuinely distinct and scientific discipline. But such “purification” is simultaneously unnecessary, undesirable, and unattainable. It is unnecessary because the scientific shortcomings of sociology are indigenous and have nothing to do with psychologism. Indeed, a more scientific sociology would look more, not less, like psychology. Purity is un…
The Rewards of Punishment
Temptation, Tradition, and Taboo
A theory of sacralization is offered in which the sacred emerges from the collision of temptation and tradition. It is proposed that when innate or acquired desires to behave in one way conflict with socially acquired and/or mediated drives to behave in another way, actors ascribe sacredness to the objects of their action as a means of reconciling the difference between their desired and actual behavior toward those objects. After establishing th…
The Moral Origins of God
A socio-evolutionary theory of the origin of “God” is presented. Its starting point is behavioral duplexity, the fact that human beings are subject to two parallel modes of behavioral control: an older nonconscious system, and a newer conscious one. The theory posits that the fabrication of, and subsequent belief in, supernatural entities (“Gods”) is a predictable byproduct of the interaction of these two systems. Specifically, because human bein…
Rationality
Rationality” is a singularly central concept to sociology, beginning with the discipline's origins. Most famously and influentially, Max Weber posited the process of “rationalization” as the central organizing principle of the modern world. Later, rational choice theory aimed to supersede previous sociological theories and claimed to explain social behavior with an approach built upon the assumption that all social actors behave rationally. In th…
Sociology (8 works) · Epistemology (7 works) · Philosophy (7 works) · Psychology (5 works) · Philosophy (4 works) · Social Psychology (4 works) · Contemporary Sociological Theory and Practice (3 works) · Religion and Society Interactions (3 works) · Computer Science (2 works) · Economics (2 works)