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Biology, Culture and Environment: Methodological and Epistemological Principles for an Integrative Social Theory

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Abstract

In this article I intend to argue that human beings have emerged from nature and remain rooted in it despite culture creating opportunities that go beyond the natural. For this reason, my interest is in showing that this cultural and psychological leap does not eliminate from human ontology the deeply rooted continuity with nature. Precisely because of this, social theory must be aware that with greater complexity, there is a need for the integration of more aetiological factors and a greater methodological and interdisciplinary breadth. Social theory cannot be constructed solely on the basis of empirical data from social analysis. The article is structured as follows: firstly, I discuss the historical origins of the emergence of the human self-perception of discontinuity. Secondly, I outline some of the ontological consequences of anthropological models based on discontinuity. Thirdly and fourthly, I outline what I consider to be the methodological and epistemological principles required for an integrative social theory. Finally, I attempt to establish an integrated typology that explains the complexity of human behaviour and identity.

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Funding

This paper is funded by the R&D Project ‘A proposal for the epistemological integration of sociology and biology from the analysis of human ambivalence (PR65/19-22435) (2020–2022)’ granted to the author by the Administration of the Community of Madrid and Complutense University of Madrid (Spain).

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  1. Department of Applied Sociology, Faculty of Education, Complutense University of Madrid, Madrid, Spain

    Jesús Romero Moñivas

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Correspondence to Jesús Romero Moñivas.

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Moñivas, J.R. Biology, Culture and Environment: Methodological and Epistemological Principles for an Integrative Social Theory. Integr. psych. behav. 57, 444–465 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12124-023-09751-6

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