Sociology

This paper is going to critique Jared M. Diamonds seminal work entitled Collapse How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed. Along with the book itself, the primary source of study would be Through the Eyes of Social Science by Frank J. Zulke and Jacqueline P. Kirley. It may be noted that both these books cover a wide range of societal issues pertaining to anthropology, geography, economics, psychology, political sciences, history and ecology.

What I believe to be scientific in this context is how Diamond brings the issues of the hazards of climate change. From environmental perspectives, pastoral settings, notwithstanding their favorable disposition to preserving environmental balances, do emit greater amount of the harmful greenhouse gases the particles of which keep accumulating in the exosphere, thus contributing to global warming. Now it is only because of the visionary genius of Jared M. Diamond which makes it possible to paint such as accurate picture of what is imminent. In other words, the author posits that the ecological threats resulting in from subversive human activities cannot be undermined at any cost
my trips to Huls and Gardar Farms, thousands of miles apart but visited during the same summer, vividly brought home to me the conclusion that even the richest, technologically most advanced societies today face growing environmental and economic problems that should not be underestimated (Diamond, 2004, p.2).

What the above passage signifies is that scientific elucidation of environmental issues is simplified by the introduction of the ecological understanding of human behavior within societal frameworks. In this sense, the basic demarcating line between science and rest of academic branches becomes quite clear. Science attempts at correlating a number of sociological disciplines with argument, appeal to similitude and judgment. But other disciplines function independently of each other, thus lacking in coherent connection with one another. The chapters devoted to the Easter Islands and Rwanda testify to this claim as both of them discuss human activities that had led to environmental malfunctioning, ultimately culminating in social breakups.

The study of sociology as a scientific discipline calls for certain inherent problems because of the lack of scientific tenets associated with the apparent vastness of the subject. Science, by default, approaches a topic with a putative sincerity. It makes an attempt to clearly define the related doctrines, before drawing the analogies conforming to them. In other words, investigation is made in the beginning, later to be supplemented by empirical evidences. But sociology or any discipline belonging to the genre of social sciences lacks coherent theoretical frameworks that can be safely relied upon for further investigations into their correlational determinants from reality. For example, the ecological and environmental aspects of environment feature prominently in our social studies. Now, environmental studies related to climate change may be seen as a set of dynamic determinants. Hence, researchers need to resort to empirical methodologies for assessing the viability of their field works. Elements of pure science in such interdisciplinary branches are sporadic as the primary analytical procedures, in majority of cases, have to take into consideration several factors that are largely observational.

A Brief Outline of Collapse How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed
Collapse How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed by Jared M. Diamond explains in detail the interaction between society and human factors occurring in the environment. As the name of the book suggests, the content focuses largely on human responsibility behind environmental decay and decadence. There are eight major factors addressed in the book deforestation, soil issues, water management, excessive hunting and fishing, exotic impact on indigenous species, population explosion, and globalization. Moreover, the author mentions that in addition to these factors, four more manmade determinants are likely to be accountable for further depreciation of human societies on earth. They are climate change induced by human activities, accumulation of toxins in the environment, dearth of energy, and complete usage of earths photosynthetic capacity.

Critical Issues
The purview of the book makes a seamless ontogenesis in its scope and justification of scientific discourses. The author cites examples arraying from the ancient Mayan civilization to the modern day Chinese societies to explicate his originative ideas on societal developments. By asking fundamental questions about the causes and probable consequences of manmade factors, he lays down the paradigm of study methodologies adopted in the book. Chapter three entitled The Last People Alive Pitcairn and Henderson Islands and chapter thirteen entitled Mining Australia document Diamonds core ideas and provide an intelligible explanation of how ancient societies traded on the naturalistic excesses to live up to their own expectations and how that mode of interplay gradually assumed an exploitative dimension leading to rapid exhaustion of societal equilibrium, thus exercising a detrimental effect on its inhabitants. As for scientific credibility, both these chapters abound in examples drawn from actual setting of the Pitcairn islands and modern Australian archipelago. Diamond makes compelling arguments regarding the scientific credibility of his research. To substantiate his arguments, he places Montana amid a setup characterized by the most basic of human-society interplays. On one hand, technological progress is seen as a blessing for the unassuming farm dwellers there. It has made their lives far less complicated and productive. On the other hand, the marginal aspects of cattle breeding in the locale do not support related expenses including transportation of the finished products and adverse climatic impacts on the population.

Daniel C. Rebers Views on Scientific Research
In the 13th chapter Through the Eyes of Social Science, 6th edition, Daniel C. Reber argues that the founding elements of social science correspond more to societal understanding of science than to scientific understanding of society (Zulke  Kirley, 2002). This is again a conjecture which is based on the assumption that the interplay between science and society has teleological significance attached to it. In other words, methodologies of scientific research on society are basically grounded on past methodologies tested more by experience than by theories. Likewise, Diamonds methodology of conducting scientific research, as he himself explains in the prologue to the book, is explorative and analytical. He incises the Christian religious dogma of the Armageddon to show that how people in some cultures, holding a deep seated belief about the same, indulged in activities that were harmful for sustaining the environment. Again, social collapses of Easter Island and Norse Greenland may have been caused by, as argued by Diamond, religious superstitions (Winzeler, 2008, p.84). All these examples are justifiable according to the arguments involving scientific research methodologies propounded by Zulke and Kirley. By tapping on the inquisitive and pull-proof methodologies adopted by Diamond to trace the buildup (i.e., religious indoctrination in the examples mentioned above) and consequences (destruction of societies) of actions, these authors explore furthermore in the fields of social sciences.

Conclusion
In essence, Diamond taps the locus of human awareness about environmental preservation for the sake of sustainability and futuristic benefits. His methodology of research is thorough and all-inclusive. The entropy of data selected for research has a pervasive methodical significance that serves as the primary tool of study for prospective researchers. The span of time elaborated in the book covers almost the phase of human evolution on earth. It makes it possible to trace the developmental maturation substantiated by authentic, first hand examples, which are to be found in Diamonds and theorized in Zulke and Kirleys.