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Altruism, morality, and social solidarity are of great sociological importance, but the nature of a coherent field integrating the contemporary study of these three phenomena has yet to be defined. This handbook serves as a foundational source for outlining and developing this field of study, and as an impetus for future research and theoretical development. Featuring a number of outstanding contributors, The Palgrave Handbook of Altruism, Morality, and Social Solidarity reawakens the study of concepts which were of central concern in the early years of sociology, and establishes their interdependence and modern significance

This article presents a theoretical perspective and a research agenda for the study of the relationship between love and effective conflict management in marriage. Love is conceptualized as virtue. Five virtues, regarded as components of benevolent love, are considered: prudence, temperance, fortitude, justice, and charity. The contribution of each virtue to conflict management is considered in relation to static and process models of marital interaction and in relation to Sorokin's five dimensions of the variation of love. Ideas from symbolic interactionist, exchange, and conflict theories are employed as perspectives in the analysis. Propositions are formulated relating each of the virtues to effective conflict management.

This paper applies the concept of virtue to an analysis of theory and research pertaining to the altruistic personality. Five primary virtues are considered: temperance, fortitude, justice, charity, prudence. The virtues are presented as the personality structure underlying altruistic motivation and behavior. Available evidence indicating a possible relationship between each of the virtues and altruistic behavior is reviewed. Sorokin's scheme of five dimensions of love is used to analyze the relationship between each of the virtues and altruistic behavior in different social situations. The advantages of viewing the altruistic personality from the perspective of the virtues is discussed.

A study which provides a systematic conceptual framework & justification for use of the cultural level of analysis for studying the relationship between some of the basic values in the US & att's toward blacks, or other minorities. According to P. Sorokin in SOCIETY, CULTURE, AND PERSONALITY (New York, NY: Harper Bros, 1947), the ideological components of culture are integrated, contradictory, or unrelated to each other. These forms of relationship are used as a basic frame of reference for the delineation of the ideological structure of solidarity & antagonism toward blacks; 3 components of this structure are distinguished, these being att's, cultural values, & the basic premise. Data for the study consist of 583 interviews with whites living in Los Angeles. The sample design provided for gathering 100 interviews in each of 6 communities, 3 black & 3 white, at each of the 3 SE levels. The results show a strong relationship between othercentered/self-centered value orientations & att's toward blacks which holds up extremely well when appropriate controls for spuriousness are applied. Other-centeredness is linked to solidarity, self-centeredness to antagonism. M. Duke.

The relationship between the values of altruism & egoism & the level of antagonism toward Negroes is examined. Antagonism toward Negroes is measured by a SD score, degree of trust of Negroes, & willingness to use firearms against Negroes during the 'Watts Riots' in Aug of 1965. The results, based on 583 interviews, indicate that altruism is associated with a lower level of antagonism toward Negroes than is egoism. This is true for all 3 measures of antagonism. When controls for sex, age, educ, & occup are applied, the original relationship between values & SD & trust is in most instances maintained. The relationship between values & use of firearms, however, is somewhat unstable, remaining of moderate strength only among men & those of low SF;S. AA.