From Book News, Inc.
Examines the social determinants of knowledge, looking closely at the ways social misconstructions originate and thrive by focusing on three concepts that find wide acceptance in modern society despite a lack of serious empirical support: Max Weber's claims that a strong linkage between Protestantism and worldly success led to the rise of the capilitalist West; the discredited view that the German lower middle class voted overwhelmingly for the Nazis; and Foucault's flawed interpretation of the "birth of prison." Annotation c. by Book News, Inc., Portland, Or.

Book Description
Social misconstructions-widely shared, long-lasting errors of fact or interpretation-often persist even when ample evidence is readily available to counter them. In this provocative book, Richard Hamilton investigates three well-accepted but erroneous social theories, how they originated, and why they endured. He sounds a clear warning for the academic community, where at times undocumented argument too easily finds acceptance.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

In this provocative book Richard F. Hamilton examines the social determinants of knowledge, focusing on three well-accepted but erroneous social theories and looking closely at the ways social misconstructions originate and thrive. Hamilton finds that despite critiques by historians, some scholars continue to believe Max Weber's claim that a strong linkage between Protestantism and worldly success led to the rise of the capitalist West. Similarly, many academics still argue the discredited view that the German lower middle class voted overwhelmingly for the Nazis. Foucalt's flawed interpretation of the "birth of prison" and other disciplinary concepts in modern society finds wide acceptance in many academic circles, despite a lack of serious empirical support. In each of these three cases, the author assesses the logic and empirical accuracy of the accepted theory and alternative theories, and he investigates the social processes giving rise to misconstructions.

FROM THE CRITICS

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