The Myth of Culture: Why We Need a Genuine Natural Science of Societies

by Nigel Barber

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Before oxygen's discovery, scientists invoked a mysterious inner principle of fire to account for burning. Today, scholars appeal to an analogously unscientific inner principle, known as culture, to account for human actions. So what is wrong with culture?! It extends from the contents of Petrie dishes to art galleries and is far too imprecise for scientific use. Science aims to separate causes from effects but social scientists use "culture" indiscriminately as both cause and effect making scientific progress impossible. Finally, culture is a smokescreen distracting us from the quest for objective influences on human behavior. (Polygamy is more about...Read more
  • ISBN13 9781847186195
  • Publish Date 3 July 2008
  • Publish Status Active
  • Publish Country GB
  • Imprint Cambridge Scholars Publishing
  • Edition Unabridged edition
  • Format Hardcover
  • Pages 315
  • Language English