Social science is defined as "... the description and scientific explanation of deliberate individual, social and societal behaviour."

1. Is there a definition of social science which underlies hunter-gatherer environmental variability theory?

Yes. The definition is:

Social science is the description and scientific explanation of deliberate individual, social and societal behaviour.

"Humankind has the individual, social and societal deliberate behaviour patterns of reasoning, social, nomadic, tool-using, omnivorous hunter-gatherers who were adapted to environmental variability."

2. What is the definition of hunter-gatherer environmental variability theory?

The definition of the theory is:

 

Humankind has the individual, social and societal deliberate behaviour patterns of reasoning, social, nomadic, tool-using, omnivorous hunter-gatherers who were adapted to environmental variability.

3. What is an illustration of “deliberate behaviour patterns” in the preceding definition of the theory?

One illustration of a deliberate behaviour pattern is humankind’s ways of reasoning. There are two distinct, recurring patterns in the way in which humankind reasons when taking deliberate decisions:

1.   Rational decisions which are entirely justified by facts, rules and logic

2.   Leaps of the imagination which are justified by previous experience

The first way of reasoning (rational decisions) is used, for example, in reaching a judicial decision. The second way of reasoning (leaps of the imagination) might be used by an inventor developing a new product or by an artist creating an original work. These two different ways of reasoning form separate patterns in humankind’s deliberate decision making.

" The theory marks a break with humankind’s generally accepted self-understanding and self-awareness."

"... human deliberate behaviour patterns are not necessarily appropriate to exploit all the opportunities for, or to deal with all the threats to, an agricultural or industrial society."

4. What is the significance of the theory?

The theory marks a break with humankind’s generally accepted self-understanding and self-awareness. As a general rule, humankind has made, and still makes, a fundamental distinction between its present-day deliberate behaviour patterns and its deliberate behaviour patterns in pre-agricultural, i.e. hunter-gatherer, society. In short, the consensus is that explanations of humankind’s present-day deliberate behaviour patterns can ignore its hunter-gatherer past. As a result of this fundamental distinction, human present-day deliberate behaviour patterns are considered to be unrelated to those of its pre-agricultural (hunter-gatherer) past. However, if the hunter-gatherer environmental variability theory is true, then present-day deliberate behaviour patterns are the same as those in societies immediately preceding agriculture. Consequently, humankind can no longer be regarded as significantly different from its predecessors immediately before the commencement of agriculture.

If humankind’s deliberate behaviour patterns are those of its predecessors immediately before the commencement of agriculture, then its present-day deliberate behaviour patterns can be posited to be constricted by its previous way of life as a hunter-gatherer. In other words, human deliberate behaviour patterns are not necessarily appropriate to exploit all the opportunities for, or to deal with all the threats to, an agricultural or industrial society. On the contrary, humankind’s deliberate behaviour patterns are shaped, primarily, by the opportunities for, and threats to, the small groups of hunter-gatherers who had to cope with the small-scale opportunities and threats of, for example, local environmental, principally climatic, variability. This self-awareness has many implications for understanding human actions and decisions in agricultural and industrial societies.

5. What facilitated the discovery of hunter-gatherer environmental variability theory?

Some insights came from the new knowledge which was gained about humankind towards the end of the twentieth century. Of particular importance was the genetic and archaeological evidence of humankind’s dispersal throughout the world from an African origin. This dispersal, which happened during the last c. 70,000 years, revealed humankind’s remarkable capacity for living in, and developing technology relevant to, almost any environment.

"... widespread advance in knowledge had made possible the identification of the potential significance of a capacity to cope deliberately with environmental variability ..."

6. Why has the significance of environmental variability in the theory only been recognised and developed from around 1990?

The principal reason is the cumulative increase in human knowledge and understanding during the twentieth century, especially in climatology, archaeology, history, sociology, psychology and last, but not least, the philosophy of science. By the 1990s, this widespread advance in knowledge had made possible the identification of the potential significance of a capacity to cope deliberately with environmental variability in explaining present-day human deliberate behaviour patterns.

" ... during 2024, three decades of work culminated in the publication of a comprehensive explanation of the theory in three books ..."

7. Why is the theory being more extensively publicised now?

The theory was first published and publicised during 1992 with the publication of Humankind the Gatherer-hunter: From Earliest Times to Industry, by Michael, Henry and Kathryn Davies. However, during 2024, three decades of work culminated in the publication of a comprehensive explanation of the theory in three books, which form a trilogy, by Michael Davies. These three titles are:

• Societies from Hunter-gatherer to Industrial (Second Edition) (First Edition 2017)
• The Management of the COVID-19 Pandemic in England 2020-22
• A Guide to Everyone’s Personality: An introduction to the Davies Personality Profile (Second Edition) (First Edition 2010)

Societies from Hunter-gatherer to Industrial and The Management of the COVID-19 Pandemic in England 2020-22 are, in effect, volumes one and two of an introduction to the theory. In A Guide to Everyone’s Personality: An introduction to the Davies Personality Profile, personality is explained as the diverse personalities of hunter-gatherers who could cope with environmental variability.

These three books provide a comprehensive and coherent explanation of the theory, which is supported by many factual examples. Additionally, The Management of the COVID-19 Pandemic in England 2020-22 contains in Chapters 1 and 2 a description and illustration of the:

1.   Social science research methodology

2.   Research methodologies of the theory

These topics are also utilised in the Part 2 Case Study (Chapters 3 to 35) on the 2020-22 COVID-19 pandemic in England. This case study is an example of social science research into a complex real event, which provides practical, useful, cross-disciplinary insights.

More fundamentally, these three books unify the social sciences, for example economics, history, psychology and sociology, by demonstrating the universality of the theory’s explanations.

" ... a scientific theory in social science has to be refutable by factual evidence."

8. What is meant when the theory is described as scientific?

Karl Popper (1902-94), an influential philosopher of science, argued that the distinguishing feature of a scientific theory is the possibility of its refutation. Consequently, applying this criterion, a scientific theory in social science has to be refutable by factual evidence.

In the hunter-gatherer environmental variability theory, human deliberate behaviour patterns are stated to be those of hunter-gatherers who were adapted to environmental variability. If social science research establishes that human deliberate behaviour patterns are not those of hunter-gatherers who were adapted to environmental variability, then the theory would be refuted. Consequently, the theory satisfies Popper’s criterion of refutability for a scientific theory.

9. What are the formal criteria which a theory needs to satisfy in order to be a valid unification of the social sciences?

There are three principal formal criteria:

• Applicable to all the social sciences
• A shared theoretical framework for all the social sciences
• Hypotheses which are capable of refutation

 

10. What is to be gained from studying the theory, if the theory were to be eventually refuted?

Even if the theory were to be eventually refuted, there is much to be learned from its study. The main benefits are:

• Familiarity with a refutable social science theory which could serve as a template for later attempts to unify the social sciences
• Knowledge of the individual, social and societal deliberate behaviour patterns during the last c. 12,000 years, particularly with regard to social change, which any unification of the social sciences has to explain
• Experience of how to apply a social science theory to a complex societal event, namely the management of the COVID-19 pandemic in England
• Awareness of the key characteristics of human personality, which any theory would have to incorporate

"... led to the discovery of a wholly unexpected, but fundamental, relationship between present-day personality and social change."

11. Has the theory resulted in an important, but wholly unexpected, discovery?

Yes. The application of the theory both to humankind’s present-day personality and to social change during the last c. 12,000 years led to the discovery of a wholly unexpected, but fundamental, relationship between present-day personality and social change. The present-day diversity of human personalities is exactly that which was needed by humankind to cope with social change arising from, for example, environmental variability.

12. Is the hunter-gatherer environmental variability theory needed?

Many current situations underline the need for a better scientific understanding of human individual, social and societal deliberate behaviour, for example those challenges which relate to the environment and international relations. Hunter-gatherer environmental variability theory offers fresh perspectives on these issues. The self-knowledge and awareness which could arise from this theory may reveal some opportunities for innovative breakthroughs.

13. At what stage is the theory?

Its present status is unproven. A great deal of work remains to be done in order to establish its truth or falseness. However, all initial attempts to refute the theory have failed.

14. How much evidence is there for the theory?

The known history of societies during the last c. 12,000 years was found to be consistent with the theory. An attempt to refute the theory with regard to the management of the COVID-19 pandemic in England 2020-22 failed. Research into the present-day personalities of tens of millions of individuals over many decades is consistent with the theory.

15. How much work needs to be done to develop the theory?

As long as the theory remains unrefuted, then the amount of research outstanding is enormous.

16. Can the effects of the theory on future decisions and actions be predicted?

No. The future is always uncertain. There is no factual evidence with which to establish in advance whether a new theory of social science will affect future decisions and actions.

"... the aim is, on the basis of our much-enhanced knowledge, to produce social science hypotheses which can be refuted by factual evidence. There are genuine grounds for optimism that this task is achievable."

17. Are there grounds for optimism in the search for a unification of the social sciences?

During the last 80 years, the discoveries of social scientists, historians and archaeologists have greatly increased our knowledge and understanding of present-day and past deliberate behaviour. There are only a few gaps in our knowledge of the significant events of human history. Furthermore, Popper’s criterion of refutability has become accepted as a reliable way of distinguishing science from the remainder of human knowledge. Therefore, the task for social scientists has been clarified in that the aim is, on the basis of our much-enhanced knowledge, to produce social science hypotheses which can be refuted by factual evidence. There are genuine grounds for optimism that this task is achievable.

Copyright © 2025 Michael James Davies, All Rights Reserved

Back to top