Table of Contents

Preface; Introduction; Part I. Metatheoretical Considerations: 1. Epistemic strategies in contemporary science; 2. The dynamics of emergence: the case against reductionism; 3. The nature of hierarchical and heterarchical organization; 4. Some formal theses on hierarchy and heterarchy; Part II. Compositionist Logics: 5. Methodological individualism; 6. Constructionism/compositionism: elementary notions; 7. Complex systems of interaction; Part III. Logics of Hierarchy: 8. Hierarchy theory and postfunctional analysis; 9. The hierarchical theory of social structure; Part IV. Heterarchical Logics: 10. Heterarchical thinking in social thought; 11. Neural networks as a model of structure; Part V. The Phenomenology of Social Structures: 12. Modalities and systems of interaction; 13. Heterarchical levels of social structure; 14. On structural totalities; 15. In conclusion; Appendix: the logics of structuration: an inventory; Glossary; Bibliography; Index.

Promotional Information

An interesting approach to the study of social structure, drawing on developments in the physical, biological and cognitive sciences.

Reviews

'Kontopoulos provides a wonderfully thorough and lucid platform from which to understand and interpret the many complex new developments in social theory.' Harrison White, Columbia University