Kingsley Davis
Encyclopedia
Kingsley Davis identified by the American Philosophical Society
as one of the most outstanding social scientists of the twentieth century, was a Hoover Institution
senior research fellow and internationally recognized American
sociologist and demographer
. He led and conducted major studies of societies in Europe, South America, Africa and Asia,
coined the term "population explosion,", and played a major role in the naming and development of the demographic transition
model. He is also credited with coining the term "zero population growth
"
although George Stolnitz claimed to have that distinction. Ironically, Davis had several children while espousing limitations on childbearing world-wide. Davis also published an influential article with Wilbert E. Moore
entitled "Some Principles of Stratification," which was a very influential functionalist account of the reasons for social inequality. Davis and Moore synthesize Durkheim
and Parsons
to argue for the "functional necessity
" of some positions over others: those that are highest paid go to the most deserving individuals; at the same time, the differential rewards motivates individuals to work to fill positions they might otherwise not. Thus, from this perspective, illness is a deviant state because it means that the individual may not be able to fill their role. Sociologists see this article as a paradigmatic case of functionalist logic, and indeed, Davis came to be a leading figure in this school of sociology.
Davis got his Ph.D.
from Harvard University
and taught at Smith College
, Clark University
, Pennsylvania State University
, Princeton University
, Columbia University
, the University of California at Berkeley and the University of Southern California
.
The demographer was internationally recognized for his expertise in world population growth and resources, the history and theory of international migration
, world urbanization
, demographic transition and population policy.
Among his other accomplishments, Davis
Davis won the Irene B. Taeuber Award for outstanding research in demography (1978), the Common Wealth Award for distinguished work in sociology (1979), and the Career of Distinguished Scholarship Award from the American Sociological Association (1982).
Kingsley Davis was a prolific scholar who published numerous research articles, book chapters and books. The latter include
In the popular press, Davis' work appeared in "Scientific American
," "Science," the "New York Times Magazine," "Commentary
," "Foreign Affairs
" and numerous newspapers.
In 1957, Davis predicted that population of the world would reach six billion by the year 2000. He was remarkably close; that population figure was reached in October 1999.
American Philosophical Society
The American Philosophical Society, founded in 1743, and located in Philadelphia, Pa., is an eminent scholarly organization of international reputation, that promotes useful knowledge in the sciences and humanities through excellence in scholarly research, professional meetings, publications,...
as one of the most outstanding social scientists of the twentieth century, was a Hoover Institution
Hoover Institution
The Hoover Institution on War, Revolution and Peace is a public policy think tank and library founded in 1919 by then future U.S. president, Herbert Hoover, an early alumnus of Stanford....
senior research fellow and internationally recognized American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
sociologist and demographer
Demography
Demography is the statistical study of human population. It can be a very general science that can be applied to any kind of dynamic human population, that is, one that changes over time or space...
. He led and conducted major studies of societies in Europe, South America, Africa and Asia,
coined the term "population explosion,", and played a major role in the naming and development of the demographic transition
Demographic transition
The demographic transition model is the transition from high birth and death rates to low birth and death rates as a country develops from a pre-industrial to an industrialized economic system. The theory is based on an interpretation of demographic history developed in 1929 by the American...
model. He is also credited with coining the term "zero population growth
Zero population growth
Zero population growth, sometimes abbreviated ZPG , is a condition of demographic balance where the number of people in a specified population neither grows nor declines, considered as a social aim....
"
although George Stolnitz claimed to have that distinction. Ironically, Davis had several children while espousing limitations on childbearing world-wide. Davis also published an influential article with Wilbert E. Moore
Wilbert E. Moore
Wilbert E. Moore was a American sociologist noted, with Kingsley Davis, for their explanation and justification for social stratification, based their idea of "functional necessity."...
entitled "Some Principles of Stratification," which was a very influential functionalist account of the reasons for social inequality. Davis and Moore synthesize Durkheim
Émile Durkheim
David Émile Durkheim was a French sociologist. He formally established the academic discipline and, with Karl Marx and Max Weber, is commonly cited as the principal architect of modern social science and father of sociology.Much of Durkheim's work was concerned with how societies could maintain...
and Parsons
Talcott Parsons
Talcott Parsons was an American sociologist who served on the faculty of Harvard University from 1927 to 1973....
to argue for the "functional necessity
The Davis-Moore hypothesis
The "Davis-Moore Hypothesis" is a central claim within the structural functionalist paradigm of sociological theory, and was advanced by Kingsley Davis and Wilbert E...
" of some positions over others: those that are highest paid go to the most deserving individuals; at the same time, the differential rewards motivates individuals to work to fill positions they might otherwise not. Thus, from this perspective, illness is a deviant state because it means that the individual may not be able to fill their role. Sociologists see this article as a paradigmatic case of functionalist logic, and indeed, Davis came to be a leading figure in this school of sociology.
Davis got his Ph.D.
Ph.D.
A Ph.D. is a Doctor of Philosophy, an academic degree.Ph.D. may also refer to:* Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*Piled Higher and Deeper, a web comic strip*PhD: Phantasy Degree, a Korean comic series* PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...
from Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
and taught at Smith College
Smith College
Smith College is a private, independent women's liberal arts college located in Northampton, Massachusetts. It is the largest member of the Seven Sisters...
, Clark University
Clark University
Clark University is a private research university and liberal arts college in Worcester, Massachusetts.Founded in 1887, it is the oldest educational institution founded as an all-graduate university. Clark now also educates undergraduates...
, Pennsylvania State University
Pennsylvania State University
The Pennsylvania State University, commonly referred to as Penn State or PSU, is a public research university with campuses and facilities throughout the state of Pennsylvania, United States. Founded in 1855, the university has a threefold mission of teaching, research, and public service...
, Princeton University
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
, Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
, the University of California at Berkeley and the University of Southern California
University of Southern California
The University of Southern California is a private, not-for-profit, nonsectarian, research university located in Los Angeles, California, United States. USC was founded in 1880, making it California's oldest private research university...
.
The demographer was internationally recognized for his expertise in world population growth and resources, the history and theory of international migration
Human migration
Human migration is physical movement by humans from one area to another, sometimes over long distances or in large groups. Historically this movement was nomadic, often causing significant conflict with the indigenous population and their displacement or cultural assimilation. Only a few nomadic...
, world urbanization
Urbanization
Urbanization, urbanisation or urban drift is the physical growth of urban areas as a result of global change. The United Nations projected that half of the world's population would live in urban areas at the end of 2008....
, demographic transition and population policy.
Among his other accomplishments, Davis
- served as president of the Population Association of America and the American Sociological AssociationAmerican Sociological AssociationThe American Sociological Association , founded in 1905 as the American Sociological Society , is a non-profit organization dedicated to advancing the discipline and profession of sociology by serving sociologists in their work and promoting their contributions to serve society.The ASA holds its...
- represented the United StatesUnited StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
on the United Nations Population Commission - member of the Advisory Council of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration and the Advisory Committee on Population for the U.S. Bureau of the Census
- was the first sociologist in the United States to be elected to the National Academy of SciencesUnited States National Academy of SciencesThe National Academy of Sciences is a corporation in the United States whose members serve pro bono as "advisers to the nation on science, engineering, and medicine." As a national academy, new members of the organization are elected annually by current members, based on their distinguished and...
(1966).
Davis won the Irene B. Taeuber Award for outstanding research in demography (1978), the Common Wealth Award for distinguished work in sociology (1979), and the Career of Distinguished Scholarship Award from the American Sociological Association (1982).
Kingsley Davis was a prolific scholar who published numerous research articles, book chapters and books. The latter include
- "Youth in the Depression" (University of Chicago Press, 1935)
- "World Population in Transition" (American Academy of Political and Social Science, 1945)
- "Human Society" (MacMillan, 1949)
- "Modern Society" (Rinehart, 1949)
- "The Population of India and Iraq" (Princeton University Press, 1951)
- "Population and Progress in Haiti" (Council on Foreign Relations, 1951)
- "The American Class Structure" (with J. Kahl; Rinehart, 1959)
- "A Structural analysis of Kinship" (Arno, 1960)
- "India's Urban Future" (with R. Turner; University of Michigan, 1961)
- "Population Policy and Economic Development" (Stanford Research Institute, 1961)
- "The psychology of Human Fertility" (Basil Blackwell, 1963)
- "The Population Impact on Children in the World's Agrarian Countries" (Institute of International Studies, 1965)
- "Cities" (Knopf, 1965)
- "California's Twenty Million" (with F. Stylkes; University of California, 1971)
- "World Urbanization 1950-1970" (Institute of International Studies, 1972)
- "Cities: Their Origin, Growth and Human Impact" (Freeman, 1973)
- "Below Replacement Fertility in Industrial Societies" (with others; Cambridge University Press, 1987)
- "Population and Resources in a Changing World" (with others; Morrison Institute for Population and Resource Studies, 1989)
- "Resources, Environment, and Population" (with M. Bernstan; Oxford University Press, 1991"
In the popular press, Davis' work appeared in "Scientific American
Scientific American
Scientific American is a popular science magazine. It is notable for its long history of presenting science monthly to an educated but not necessarily scientific public, through its careful attention to the clarity of its text as well as the quality of its specially commissioned color graphics...
," "Science," the "New York Times Magazine," "Commentary
Commentary (magazine)
Commentary is a monthly American magazine on politics, Judaism, social and cultural issues. It was founded by the American Jewish Committee in 1945. By 1960 its editor was Norman Podhoretz, a liberal at the time who moved sharply to the right in the 1970s and 1980s becoming a strong voice for the...
," "Foreign Affairs
Foreign Affairs
Foreign Affairs is an American magazine and website on international relations and U.S. foreign policy published since 1922 by the Council on Foreign Relations six times annually...
" and numerous newspapers.
In 1957, Davis predicted that population of the world would reach six billion by the year 2000. He was remarkably close; that population figure was reached in October 1999.
Reading
David Heer and Kingsley Davis. "Kingsley Davis: A Biography and Selections from His Works" (Transaction Publishers, 2005)External links
- Kingsley Davis at Encyclopædia BritannicaEncyclopædia BritannicaThe Encyclopædia Britannica , published by Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., is a general knowledge English-language encyclopaedia that is available in print, as a DVD, and on the Internet. It is written and continuously updated by about 100 full-time editors and more than 4,000 expert...
- Obituary at Stanford News
- Biography at the American Sociological AssociationAmerican Sociological AssociationThe American Sociological Association , founded in 1905 as the American Sociological Society , is a non-profit organization dedicated to advancing the discipline and profession of sociology by serving sociologists in their work and promoting their contributions to serve society.The ASA holds its...
- Biography from Proceedings of the American Philosophical SocietyAmerican Philosophical SocietyThe American Philosophical Society, founded in 1743, and located in Philadelphia, Pa., is an eminent scholarly organization of international reputation, that promotes useful knowledge in the sciences and humanities through excellence in scholarly research, professional meetings, publications,...