Point Five of my seven-point Positive Sociology Manifesto.
Other points are here: 1, 2, 3, 4.
Positive Sociology humbly accepts that more complex social phenomena emerge as we move from the micro to the meso to the macro levels of society, which are increasingly difficult to study and understand.
That more complex social phenomena emerge at higher levels of social organization is an idea that all kinds of sociology should embrace. This is our bulwark against many kinds of reductionism, which not only miss the forest for the trees, but levels the forest in the process.
Positive sociology can humbly accept the idea of emergence, because finding what makes for a happy society gets exponentially harder as we move to each higher level of social organization. As much as we owe to Positive Psychology for exploring individual and small group happiness, we cannot replicate their success simply by replicating their methods with larger groups.
That more complex social phenomena emerge at higher levels of social organization is an idea that all kinds of sociology should embrace. This is our bulwark against many kinds of reductionism, which not only miss the forest for the trees, but levels the forest in the process.
Positive sociology can humbly accept the idea of emergence, because finding what makes for a happy society gets exponentially harder as we move to each higher level of social organization. As much as we owe to Positive Psychology for exploring individual and small group happiness, we cannot replicate their success simply by replicating their methods with larger groups.
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