Beyond Reductionism in the Study of Aging: The Functional Organismic Nexus and the Case of Race

Abstract The study of age and human development in the social and behavioral sciences has been constricted in intellectual scope by reductionist inclinations supported by a set of mutually reinforcing ideas derived from functionalist sociology and organismic theory in psychology, which we have termed the functional–organismic (F-O) nexus. This nexus emphasizes “normative” assumptions and individual-level modes of explanation, precluding attention to the explanatory power of social forces in shaping both individual aging and the social organization of age and the very meaning of age. Even in the face of challenging evidence, this nexus of ideas has proven remarkably resilient. After examining the appeal of the nexus in three substantive areas (cohort analysis, cumulative dis/advantage, and social genomics), we suggest that a series of recently emergent developments in both science and society pose a new order of challenge to its individual-level focus. To illustrate how such new evidence may further call into question such individualistic assumptions, we examine recent scholarship focused on the issues of racism and the construct of race. Examining multiple issues surrounding the intersection of race with age and life-course patterns illustrates the role of systemic social processes in shaping life-course patterns and shows clearly the limits and distortions of the premises of the F‑O nexus and the questions posed within it.