ABSTRACT
This part introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the first part of this book. The part presents a generic definition of social phenomena, describes its intended scope and limits of reference, derives from it the four components of every social phenomenon, and examines some of the relevant sociological and sociobiological literature. It differentiates the physical behaviors of individuals and the social structures that derive from them according to their effects between as well as within individuals. The part explores the roles of the four main concepts that have been conceptualized above–especially social and cultural structures but also spatial and temporal regularities–in analyses of social phenomena among nonhuman organisms. It examines certain more specific principles governing the analysis of social structure, cultural structure, and spatial and temporal regularities. The part also examines principles of descriptive sociological analysis by discussing hierarchic structure in all four of these components of social phenomena.
