Abstract
Wherever human societies have existed, there have been those who have theorized about the individual self and about the dynamic interaction between each person and his culture. While it was not practical to attempt an examination in this book of all theories of the individual and society, it is crucial to note that there seems to be an evolution of thought in the direction of viewing man as a set of systems within larger systems.
It is no easy matter to study social phenomena in the only right way—viewing each element in the light of the whole system. Auguste Comte, 1896(9)
... social evolution forms a part of evolution at large. Herbert Spencer, 1898(18)
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Spradlin, W.W., Porterfield, P.B. (1979). Evolution of a Systems Theory of Self and Society. In: Human Biosociology. Heidelberg Science Library. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4612-6148-3_13
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