Amitology
Discussion
"Sorokin’s firm belief in the potential of social sciences as a guide for humanity, to the point of even hypothesizing the birth of a new applied science that would promote friendship, unconditional love, and mutual aid. Sorokin proposed to developing this new science of love that he named “Amitology,” characterized as “an applied science of amity and unselfish love” (Sorokin 1951).
As Rusu notes:
- “At the core of amitology lie two complementary high ideals: an anthropological end, aiming to discover the most efficient techniques for the altruistic transformation of human personality, and a societal ideal, aiming to reconstruct humanity as a universal community of altruistic love. At a micro-level, Sorokin strove for amitology to lead to the ‘creative-altruisation’ of persons and groups, that is, to people’s characterial transfiguration through the power of love. On the macro-level of redeeming society of its evils and hate, conflict and war, violence and inequality, Sorokin imagined a political economy of love based on ‘finding and inventing the most efficient ways of production, accumulation, and circulation of love energy in the human universe’” (Rusu 2018, p. 11).
In fact, for Sorokin
- “The historical moment has struck for building a new applied science or a new art of amitology – the science and art cultivation of amity, unselfish love, and mutual help in interindividual and intergroup relationships. A mature amitology is now the paramount need of humanity. Its development tangibly determines the creative future of Homo sapiens” (Sorokin 1951, p. 277).
The first task of this new discipline is an accurate analysis of the main aspects, properties, and basic forms of altruistic relationship and love energy, which means that amitology actually starts from the study of social relations and interactions. The application ofthese assumptions implies an understanding of the mechanisms by which human beings make their decisions based on their degree of knowledge about a given situation. As stated by Krotov “Sorokin believed in the reformist mission of sociology. He pioneered amitological studies, in so doing translating macro-theory into applied research” (Krotov 2014, p. 146)"