Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: This essay critically reviews Alan Fiske’s recent book Representing Relationships: Modes of Cognition and Connection (2026). The book presents a sustained argument for Fiske’s conformation systems theory of human sociality. In this essay, I first reconstruct the main ideas of conformation systems theory, and then move to a topical discussion. The discussion covers: (i) why conformations take the form they do; (ii) whether conformations are conceptual metaphors; (iii) the place of mindreading (“theory of mind”) in conformational practices; and finally, (iv) applications of conformational systems theory to ancient human (i.e., Pleistocene) symbolic behavior.
Source: Theory and Society
Author: Ronald J. Planer
Institution: University of Wollongong
Language: English
Subfield: Sociology and Political Science
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
Estimated APC paid: $2,890
OpenAlex ID: W7225202865