New Books in Philosophy Armin W. Schulz, "Presentist Social Functionalism: Bringing Contemporary Evolutionary Biology to the Social Sciences" (Springer, 2025)
Sep 10, 2025
Armin W. Schulz, Professor of Philosophy at the University of Kansas, combines evolutionary biology with social sciences in a compelling discussion. He introduces presentist social functionalism, focusing on how social institutions function in contemporary society, rather than through their historical context. Schulz analyzes the debate between shareholder and stakeholder models of corporations, reframes institutional corruption, and examines internal conflicts in collective agents. His insights challenge traditional views and emphasize the importance of social norms and structures.
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How Chance Shaped A Research Path
- Armin Schulz described his academic path from LSE to Madison to Kansas and how chance encounters shaped his focus on evolution and social science.
- He credits encountering philosophy of biology and advisors like Elliot Sober for steering him toward his research program.
Human Social Life Is Normatively Rich
- Humans uniquely inhabit richly normatively structured environments and are aware of appropriate ways to act.
- Schulz argues social institutions are best modeled as rule-based norms rather than just game equilibria.
Function Returned As A Social-Science Tool
- Functional explanations were central to early sociology but fell out of favor due to theoretical problems in the 20th century.
- Understanding institutional function remains important for explaining which social features persist and matter to social science.
