Advancing Sociology through a Focus on Dynamic Relations

Abstract

It is said that a well-respected scientist in 1819, upon observing lichen growing on a rock, believed that he was witnessing the spontaneous transformation of stone into living plant. However, “closer inspection showed that lichens were more interesting than magical. They are in fact a partnership between fungi and algae” (Bryson 2003, 336). The ongoing discovery of dynamic relations such as this is what has characterized meaningful advances across a wide range of sciences in recent centuries.