Affectivity and the Social Bond offers a fresh and original perspective on the relationship between affectivity and transcendence in nineteenth and twentieth century French social theory. Engaging in a conceptual analysis of the works of Comte, Durkheim, Bataille and Girard, this book exposes a major transformation brought about by the sociological gaze in understandings of affectivity and its relationship to both sociality and transcendence in nineteenth century social thought: the ambivalence between the transcendence of the social and the immanence of affective experience. Revealing the manner in which questions of violence and economy are intertwined in the sociological analysis of affectivity, Affectivity and the Social Bond reflects upon the problem of controlling affectivity, alongside the political implications and possible dangers of a sociological model which seeks the roots of the social bond first and foremost in the affective realm. A rigorous engagement with the classics of French social theory, their treatment of human affectivity and its relationship to social integration and regulation, this book will appeal not only to sociologists and social theorists, but also to those with interests in social and political philosophy and the history of ideas.

Some investigators have argued that emotions, especially animal emotions, are illusory concepts outside the realm of scientific inquiry. However, with advances in neurobiology and neuroscience, researchers are demonstrating that this position is wrong as they move closer to a lasting understanding of the biology and psychology of emotion. In Affective Neuroscience, Jaak Panksepp provides the most up-to-date information about the brain-operating systems that organize the fundamental emotional tendencies of all mammals. Presenting complex material in a readable manner, the book offers a comprehensive summary of the fundamental neural sources of human and animal feelings, as well as a conceptual framework for studying emotional systems of the brain. Panksepp approaches emotions from the perspective of basic emotion theory but does not fail to address the complex issues raised by constructionist approaches. These issues include relations to human consciousness and the psychiatric implications of this knowledge. The book includes chapters on sleep and arousal, pleasure and fear systems, the sources of rage and anger, and the neural control of sexuality, as well as the more subtle emotions related to maternal care, social loss, and playfulness. Representing a synthetic integration of vast amounts of neurobehavioral knowledge, including relevant neuroanatomy, neurophysiology, and neurochemistry, this book will be one of the most important contributions to understanding the biology of emotions since Darwins The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals

Originally published in 1984, this was the first volume on this topic to appear in an emerging area of study at the time. The editors were selective in choosing their contributions to the volume to ensure that both the developmental and neuropsychological domains were well represented. One of the major goals was to foster greater contact and cross-fertilization between subdisciplines that they firmly believed should be more intimately connected. The result is this title, which can now be enjoyed in its historical context.

Written by experts in comparative, developmental, social, cognitive and cultural psychology, this book introduces the novel concept of affective social learning to help explain why what matters to us, matters to us. In the same way that social learning describes how we observe other people's behaviour to learn how to use a particular object, affective social learning describes how we observe other people's emotions to learn how to value a particular object, person or event. As such, affective social learning conceptualises the transmission of value from a given culture to a given person and reveals why the things that are so important to us can be of no consequence at all to others.

"An interpretation of the philosophy of J.G. Fichte. Examines the impact of nineteenth-century psychological techniques and technologies on the formation of his theory of the imagination"--Provided by publisher.

Explores the phenomenon of xenoglossia, the sudden, miraculous ability to speak, understand, read, or write a foreign language, as it appears in the later medieval hagiographic record and in English literature. Includes discussion of the late medieval English writers Geoffrey Chaucer and Margery Kempe --Provided by publisher.

Is violent conflict inevitable? What is it in our social nature that makes us conduct wars, genocides and persecutions? The answer lies in how we are programmed to bond and form communities that demand loyalty in order to let us belong. The analysis in this book cuts through the social sciences in order to show the fundamentals of violent conflict. The book investigates conflict at the level of sociality. It reorganises existing theories of conflict under that perspective and brings them to bear upon the link between violence and togetherness. It introduces the key concept of closure to describe the conditions under which human groups start to perceive their position as similar and their reality as polarised. This is how normality starts breaking down and fault lines appear. Violent conflict is then analysed as a reaction that seeks change more rapidly than conditions seem to allow. Global comparative data from numerous studies – including M. Mousseau's works – are used to disentangle the factors that contribute to "democratic peace", that is, the fact that democratic societies do not go to war with each other. This inquiry reveals the new dimension of sociodiversity, which allows societies where individuality is strong to constantly produce alternatives and avoid closure. The book concludes with a coda on peace and sociodiversity which explains how contemporary societies can ensure durable peace and adequate social justice at the same time. Written in a clear and direct style, this volume will appeal to students, researchers and scholars with an interest in political sociology, anthropology, international relations, war studies, as well as conflict and peace studies.

Emotion (or affect) is a cross-disciplinary subject in psychology. Psychology Library Editions: Emotion makes available again twelve previously out-of-print titles that were originally published between 1976 and 1999, either as a set or as individual volumes, in your choice of print or ebook. Written by a range of authors from diverse backgrounds and spanning different areas of psychology, such as clinical, cognitive, developmental and social, the volumes feature a variety of approaches and topics. This is a great opportunity to trace the development of research in emotion from a number of different perspectives.

Youth, Crime and Justice takes a critical issues approach to analyzing the current debates and issues in juvenile delinquency. It encourages readers to adopt an analytical understanding encompassing not only juvenile crime, but also the broader context within which the conditions of juvenile criminality occur. Students are invited to explore the connections between social, political, economic and cultural conditions and juvenile crime. This book engages with the key topics in the debate about juvenile justice and delinquency: juvenile institutions delinquency theories gender and race youth and moral panic restorative justice youth culture and delinquency. It clearly examines all the important comparative and transnational research studies for each topic. Throughout, appropriate qualitative studies are used to provide context and explain the theories in practice, conveying a powerful sense of the experience of juvenile justice. This accessible and innovative textbook will be an indispensable resource for senior undergraduates and postgraduates in criminology, criminal justice and sociology.

Extraordinary Groups has had a storied history of excellence over multiple editions. Now available from Waveland Press at the start of its fifth decade of availability, its interdisciplinary approach to groups engaged in unconventional lifestyles makes it a popular textbook choice in hundreds of college courses across the social sciences, including anthropology, religion, history, and psychology. Written by sociologists, using and illustrating sociological principles, the book is appealing because it is descriptive and explanatory rather than analytical. Descriptions of the groups are interwoven with basic sociological concepts, but systematic analysis and inductive reasoning are left to the discretion of the instructor. Extraordinary Groups is a compelling overview of the broad tapestry of social life that constitutes the United States. The illustrated, full-featured Ninth Edition includes a glossary and end-of-chapter key terms, sources on the Web, and selected readings.