| dc.description | The dissertation involves two related questions: What is the relationship between individuals and the society in which they live? and, given this relationship, How are social scientists, in particular social psychologists, to study individuals? A duality model of the individual-society connection is proposed, which recognises the irreducibility and the interdependence of individuals and society. Individuals, as autonomous agents with subjective orientations to the society of which they are a part, and social structure, as an objective order of material social forces, dialectically interact and jointly produce social change. The model differs from others in recognising an objective and a subjective aspect to both individuals and society. Social structure affects individual agents through the subjectification of the material structure as culture, and individual agents affect structure through the objectification of their action in social positions. Using this model, the life-histories of three individuals are analysed, showing how the interaction of personal and social variables allowed them to be the persons they were (are). These individuals (Z. K. Matthews (1901-1968); Nelson Mandela (1918-) and Stephen Biko (1946-1977)) all contributed to the black opposition movement in South Africa, but, because of the different socio-historical times in which they lived, interacted with different social contexts, resulting in differences (and similarities) between the three lives. Finally, the duality model is evaluated against alternatives and is shown to offer a more adequate understanding of the individual-society connection and to satisfy criteria of a progressive scientific research programme. | en_US |
