1. Theories, Research, Values Flashcards
Theories, Research, Values (general):
Why is Auguste Comte relevant to sociology?
Tried to place the study in scientific foundations; understand the social world as it was rather than as he or anyone else thought is was and introduced the term “sociology” in 1838
+ Didn’t conduct any research
Theories, Research, Values (general):
Why is Herbert Spencer relevant to sociology?
Remains of interest only because was one of the first social thinkers to assert that society operates according to scientific laws (thought that societies evolved in the same way biological species do; “social darwinism” - deep social inequalities exist in society, but that’s just as it should be if societies are to evolve)
+ Didn’t conduct any research
Theories, Research, Values (general):
What is the Tension between belief in the importance of society and a vision of the ideal society?
I actually don’t know the answer to this one yet
Theories, Research, Values (general):
Who are the 3 main thinkers of sociology and what did they have in common?
Karl Marx, Emile Durkheim, Maw Weber
- Witnessed Europe’s transition to industrial capitalism
- Wanted to explain the great transformation of Europe and suggest ways of improving people’s lives
- Adopted scientific research methods in their work, but also wanted to chart a better course for their societies
- Their ideas are diagnostic tools to learn from and prescriptions for combating social ills
Theories:
What are theories?
Sociological ideas, tentative explanations of some aspect of social life, state how and why certain facts are related; Useful insofar as they guide research, telling us what to look for
Theories:
What are the 4 main theories, their main theories and the structures they focus on?
- Functionalism - Durkheim; macrostructures
- Conflict theory - Marx, Weber, Gramsci, Foucault; macrostructures, global structures
- Symbolic Interactionism - Weber, Mead, Goffman; microstructures
- Feminism - Martineau, Adams; all?
Research:
What is it for sociology?
Process of systematically observing social reality, often to test a theory
Values:
What are they?
Values are ideas about what is good and bad, right and wrong which help sociologists formulate and favor certain theories over others
Values:
In a sociology context.
Sociologists try to find ways to improve society, but in order to do that they need to have an ideal society in mind (so they know how to evaluate the current one)
