Chapter 1: Introduction To Sociology Flashcards
Define sociology
The study of patterns of human behaviour in society.
Who is the founding figure of sociology
August Comte
What does canonical mean
It is regarded as foundational and representative to the discipline
On what is sociological knowledge based
It is based on the systemic approach to research methods that comprise of four criteria namely
Sensibility
Comprehensiveness
Transparency
Scepticism
Discuss the four criteria for sociological research
Sensible aspect:
Asks questions about what need to be understood or useful or relevant to understanding and theorising an issue.
Comprehensive aspect:
Tries to ask all possible questions on issues, probes as many dimensions as possible and access sources of information about issue
Transparency aspect:
Process of generating information pertinent to a study is open to inspection by others within sociological community.
Scepticism aspect:
Not settling for common sense or first answer but look for supporting evidence from different sources.
Define theory
Is a set of ideas which provides an explanation for something
What is a sociological theory
Is a set of ideas which provides an explanation for human society
Give the summary of sociological theory
Modern world has less moral cohesion than earlier societies.
Modern world is an iron cage of rational systems with no escape.
Capitalism tends to sow seeds of own destruction.
People create social worlds that enslave them.
People retain capacity to change social world that constraint them.
What did sociologist C Wright Mills mean by Sociological imagination
Helping ordinary people understand what’s going on in the world, to understand how their personal circumstances intersect with larger processes happening in society.
What is the role of sociologist
Clarify how people’s individual circumstances are part of complex web of larger social structures and processes accompanying transition to industrial society.
Clarify for people the connection between regular patterns in own lives and larger scale changes in immediate society as well as global level.
what are four criteria by which to discern the
unit-ideas of a discipline.
1.the ideas must have generality, meaning
that we encounter these ideas in the works of a large number of scholars and not just an individual
2. the ideas must have continuity: the ideas
are observable in an early phase of the discipline as well as in the present
3. the ideas must be distinctive; they clearly distinguish it from other
disciplines.
4. they are ideas in the full sense; such ideas are a
perspective which unites observation of some phenomenon and insight into
what is observed.
What are the 5 unit ideas according to Nesbet
Community refers to social bonds and emotional cohesion in relation to
the local community, religion, work, family and culture. It bears the idea of a good society. The most fundamental form is the family, but may also be based on locality, religion, nation, race or occupation.
Authority is about the legitimated inner order within an association of
humans which could be political or religious or cultural association; its
legitimation could be due to its social function, tradition, or simple allegiance to such associations by a social collective.
Status is the position wherein an individual may be located in the hierarchical structure of any society
The sacred is about behaviour derived from religion, myths, rituals, dogmas and mores in relation to social behaviour.
Alienation draws from the historical perspective of the development of society, the disruptive changes societies undergo, and its impact on humans bringing a sense of estrangement, a situation of lawlessness called anomie, a feeling of being rootless and cut off from a community one has an emotional bond with.
What is meant by ideal type
An
ideal type is a pure model representation of something and is not found in
the real world.
Provide the four ideal types or orientations of sociology
Professional sociology
It is largely concerned with developing and expanding upon several different research programs. It legitimises itself on the basis of being faithful to the norms of conducting scientific research as accepted by the broader community of social scientists
Policy sociology
Policy sociology legitimises itself on the basis of its effectiveness. It is
accountable to the clients who commission or contract the research. Its politics are about proposing policy interventions.
Critical sociology
Critical sociology legitimises itself on the basis that it supplies moral visions. It is accountable to a community of critical intellectuals who do not strictly confine themselves to one discipline
Public sociology
Public sociology legitimises itself on the basis of its relevance. It legitimises itself to a designated public. It regards politics as being about democratic dialogue.
