>Imagine psychologists develop a machine that can accurately map any
>person's psychological characteristics (thoughts, interests, opinions,
>desires, fears). Would this knowledge allow us to understand and
>analyze the social structure of a particular society? Absolutely not!
>Sure, the machine may tell us "George over here is one greedy son of a
>bitch". However, that knowledge cannot explain social structural
>characteristics such as economic inequality in our society, because a
>greedy person cannot transform that psychological impulse into economic
>advantage unless there is a social structure that enables vast economic
>disparities.
Nevertheless, the knowledge that many people suffer from greed does permit us to understand a lot about the social structure of a society. Greed is a mental disorder with social causes - insecurity. So greed is a symptom which tells us a lot about the society in which it arises.
>The same argument can be applied to any psychological characteristic:
>for a person to fulfill a psychological impulse, there must be social
>conditions that enable that impulse.
And social conditions which give rise to that psychological characteristic. It is important not to forget that.
Bill Bartlett Bracknell Tas