"Biology, History, and Social Science: Past, Present, and Future Interactions"

“生物学、历史学和社会科学：过去、现在和未来的相互作用”

基本信息

批准号：
AH/L007312/1
负责人：
Chris Renwick
金额：
$ 17.78万
依托单位：
University of York
依托单位国家：
英国
项目类别：
Fellowship
财政年份：
2014
资助国家：
英国
起止时间：
2014 至无数据
项目状态：
已结题

来源：
https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=AH%2FL007312%2F1
关键词：
Biology History Social Science Past

项目摘要

The relationship between biology and society is a problem with a difficult past, a controversial present, and an uncertain future. Since the widespread acceptance of evolutionary theories in the mid-nineteenth century the idea that nature, rather than nurture, dominates human identity has been investigated frequently. However, after the horrendous results of state-sanctioned eugenic programmes during the 1930s and 40s, bio-social science was treated with a great deal of scepticism; in particular by historians and social scientists, who rejected what they saw as biological reductionism in favour of ideas about the social and cultural construction of human identity. During the past 30 years, though, scholars such as sociobiologists and evolutionary psychologists have attacked that consensus by arguing that truthful accounts of humans, society, culture, and history should be rooted in the natural sciences. This idea is currently being developed prominently in "neuro-history": a programme that aims to change the way history is written by rooting the analysis of social change in our understanding of the human brain. When taken-for-granted conceptions of what it is to practice history are being questioned, there is a fundamental need to interrogate the relationship between biology and social understanding. My project contributes to these discussions in two different ways. Firstly, I will research a book on the intersection of biology, politics, and social investigation in twentieth-century Britain, provisionally entitled "The Invention of Social Mobility: Biology, Social Science, and Class in Mid-Twentieth-Century Britain". Concentrating on the period from the late 1910s, when eugenics was entering a two-decade height of popularity, to the late 1960s, when the agendas, aims, and practices we identify with modern social research were stabilised, my research will explore a set of debates about the nature of society and social structure that created and shaped key concepts, including "social mobility," which are central to contemporary politics and social policy. More specifically, I will analyse the underappreciated intellectual exchanges in those debates between biologists and social investigators-in particular demographers, economists, and sociologists-who were brought together not only by shared interests in topics such as intelligence, fertility, nutrition, and poverty but also funding bodies such as the Rockefeller Foundation. In so doing, I will throw light on how dialogue between natural and social science played a hugely productive role in shaping not only disciplinary boundaries but also the way we and modern social policy makers think about society. Secondly, my research will support a broad set of leadership development and impact activities, which will not only facilitate interdisciplinary discussion about new research agendas but also extend significantly my growing international reputation as an expert on the history of the relationship between biological and social thought. Whilst I will disseminate my research findings to a number of different research communities through targeted publications and conference presentations, I will also bring together scholars from the natural sciences, social sciences, and history for a major international conference. The aim of that conference will be to discuss not only the serious issues biological and neuro- science currently raise for scholars in history and the social sciences but also the potential for historians and social scientists to shape agendas in the other direction. Along with a programme of public engagement, including public lectures, these activities will concentrate minds, both inside and outside academia, on an important set of conversations that are emerging at the intersection of a number of different fields and help shape pressing interdisciplinary research agendas

生物学与社会之间的关系是一个有着艰难的过去、充满争议的现在和不确定的未来的问题。自从十九世纪中叶进化论被广泛接受以来，“先天而不是后天”主导人类身份的观念就被频繁地研究。然而，在 20 世纪 30 年代和 40 年代国家批准的优生计划取得了可怕的结果之后，生物社会科学受到了极大的怀疑。特别是历史学家和社会科学家，他们拒绝了他们所认为的生物还原论，转而支持关于人类身份的社会和文化建构的思想。然而，在过去的 30 年里，社会生物学家和进化心理学家等学者攻击了这一共识，认为对人类、社会、文化和历史的真实描述应该植根于自然科学。这一想法目前在“神经历史”中得到了显着发展：该项目旨在通过将社会变革的分析植根于我们对人脑的理解来改变历史的书写方式。当人们对历史实践的理所当然的概念提出质疑时，就有必要质疑生物学与社会理解之间的关系。我的项目以两种不同的方式促进了这些讨论。首先，我将研究一本关于二十世纪英国生物学、政治学和社会调查交叉的书，暂定名为《社会流动性的发明：二十世纪中叶英国的生物学、社会科学和阶级》。我的研究重点关注从 1910 年代末期（当时优生学进入了两个十年的流行高峰）到 1960 年代末期（当时我们认同现代社会研究的议程、目标和实践已经稳定下来），我的研究将探讨一系列关于社会本质和社会结构的辩论创造并塑造了关键概念，包括“社会流动性”，这是当代政治和社会政策的核心。更具体地说，我将分析生物学家和社会调查员（特别是人口学家、经济学家和社会学家）之间的辩论中未被充分重视的知识交流，他们不仅因为对智力、生育力、营养和贫困等话题的共同兴趣而聚集在一起，而且还资助洛克菲勒基金会等机构。在此过程中，我将阐明自然科学和社会科学之间的对话如何在塑造学科边界以及我们和现代社会政策制定者思考社会的方式方面发挥巨大的富有成效的作用。其次，我的研究将支持一系列广泛的领导力发展和影响活动，这不仅将促进有关新研究议程的跨学科讨论，而且还将显着提高我作为生物与社会思想之间关系历史专家日益增长的国际声誉。虽然我将通过有针对性的出版物和会议演讲向许多不同的研究团体传播我的研究成果，但我还将汇集自然科学、社会科学和历史学的学者参加一次重要的国际会议。这次会议的目的不仅是讨论目前向历史学和社会科学学者提出的生物学和神经科学的严重问题，而且还讨论历史学家和社会科学家在另一个方向上制定议程的潜力。连同包括公开讲座在内的公众参与计划，这些活动将把学术界内外的思想集中在一系列重要的对话上，这些对话出现在许多不同领域的交叉点上，并有助于制定紧迫的跨学科研究议程