Does Sorokin's Data Support His Theory?: A Study of Generational Fluctuations in Philosophical Beliefs
The question was raised regarding the empirical support for Sorokin's cyclical theory of philosophical, religious, and scientific movements. Transhistorical measures of creativity and philosophical beliefs were used which spanned 122 generations (or 20-year periods) from 540 B.C. to 1900 A.D. i...
| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Wiley-Blackwell
[1976]
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| In: |
Journal for the scientific study of religion
Year: 1976, Volume: 15, Issue: 2, Pages: 187-198 |
| Further subjects: | B
Creativity tests
B Religious Practices B Universal ethical principles B Correlations B Empiricism B Creativity B Fideism B Eternalism |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (Resolving-System) Volltext (doi) |
| Summary: | The question was raised regarding the empirical support for Sorokin's cyclical theory of philosophical, religious, and scientific movements. Transhistorical measures of creativity and philosophical beliefs were used which spanned 122 generations (or 20-year periods) from 540 B.C. to 1900 A.D. in Western history. An analysis of non-transformed and first-differenced data indicated that (a) philosophical beliefs form two postively correlated Sensate and Ideational clusters, (b) Sensate times are associated with scientific creativity and Ideational times with religious activity, and (c) these relationships hold solely for immediate generational fluctuations since the time-wise trends for Sensate and Ideational systems are the same. An alternative explanation was proposed which may better fit the data but which casts doubt on Sorokin's forecast of a new Ideational age of religious activity. |
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| ISSN: | 1468-5906 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Journal for the scientific study of religion
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.2307/1385362 |