Sociofact
Encyclopedia
Term coined by Sir Julian Sorell Huxley, used together with the related terms "mentifact
" (sometimes called a psychofact)and "artifact
" to describe how cultural traits take on a life of their own, spanning over generations. This idea is related to memetics
. The idea of the sociofact was developed extensively by David Bidney in his textbook Theoretical Anthropology. Bidney used the term to refer to objects which consist of interactions between members of a social group. The concept has been used by social scientists in their analyses of varying kinds of social groups. For instance, semiotician of music Charles Boilès, in a discussion of the semiotics
of the tune Taps
, claims that although it is a single piece of music, it can be seen as three distinct musical sociofacts: as a "last call" signal in taverns frequented by soldiers, as an "end of day" signal on military bases, and hence symbolically as a component of military funerals. The claim has been made that sociofactual analysis can play a decisive role for the performance of, and collaboration within, organizations.
Mentifact
Mentifact is a term coined by Sir Julian Sorell Huxley, used together with the related terms "sociofact" and "artifact" to describe how cultural traits, such as "beliefs, values, ideas," take on a life of their own spanning over generations, and are conceivable as objects in themselves...
" (sometimes called a psychofact)and "artifact
Cultural artifact
A cultural artifact is a term used in the social sciences, particularly anthropology, ethnology, and sociology for anything created by humans which gives information about the culture of its creator and users...
" to describe how cultural traits take on a life of their own, spanning over generations. This idea is related to memetics
Memetics
Memetics is a theory of mental content based on an analogy with Darwinian evolution, originating from Richard Dawkins' 1976 book The Selfish Gene. It purports to be an approach to evolutionary models of cultural information transfer. A meme, analogous to a gene, is essentially a "unit of...
. The idea of the sociofact was developed extensively by David Bidney in his textbook Theoretical Anthropology. Bidney used the term to refer to objects which consist of interactions between members of a social group. The concept has been used by social scientists in their analyses of varying kinds of social groups. For instance, semiotician of music Charles Boilès, in a discussion of the semiotics
Semiotics
Semiotics, also called semiotic studies or semiology, is the study of signs and sign processes , indication, designation, likeness, analogy, metaphor, symbolism, signification, and communication...
of the tune Taps
Taps
"Taps" is a musical piece sounded by the U.S. military nightly to indicate that it is "lights out". The tune is also sometimes known as "Butterfields Lullaby", or by the lyrics of its second verse, "Day is Done". It is also played during flag ceremonies and funerals, generally on bugle or trumpet...
, claims that although it is a single piece of music, it can be seen as three distinct musical sociofacts: as a "last call" signal in taverns frequented by soldiers, as an "end of day" signal on military bases, and hence symbolically as a component of military funerals. The claim has been made that sociofactual analysis can play a decisive role for the performance of, and collaboration within, organizations.