Debate 2 - Is sociology a science Flashcards
Do positivists believe sociology should be viewed as a science
Yes
What processes do positivists argue should be taken through viewing sociology as a science
Inductive reasoning: Gaining data about the world to understand patterns. Once induction has been used, sociologists can create a theory to explain these patterns.
Verificationism: Sociologists can then create a scientific theory through verificationism - gaining further evidence to prove the theory correct to claim it as truth/law.
What is an example study done by a functionalist who studied with the positivists view for sociology is a science to be desirable
Durkeims suicide study
What is the Realisms perspective on if it is desirable for sociology to be a science
Sociology is a science through open systems
That the defintion of science is wrong: there are 2 systems
Closed system - the researcher can control and measure all the relevant variables and make precise predicitions
Open system - researcher cannot control and measure all the variables so cannot make precise predictions, but this does not make it unscientific (EG Meteorologists)
Do interpretivists desire sociology to be a science
No
Why do interpretivists not desire sociology to be a science
Society does not exists externally so it cannot be studied scientifically like rocks
Scientific matter (eg rocks) react to external stimulus, have no consciousness and react in a predictable manner. Humans have consciousness & free will. They interpret situations very differently due to their unique experiences – unpredictable and subjective
Mistake to treat sociology as a science as cannot gain validity and understanding of meaning through quantative data
What are Phenomenologists & Ethnomethodologists
Anti-structuralist. Reject causal explanations and argue that society is simply the shared meanings of individuals there is no cause-and-effect relationship to find.
What are Douglas’s and Atkinson’s argument on suicide being studied scientifically
Douglas rejected the positivist idea of external social facts determining our behaviour - Individuals have free will and choose how to act. To understand suicide the researcher must uncover the meaning for those involved, not impose own meanings. Therefore, they reject Durkheim’s use of official statistics – they are not objective facts but are social constructs (created by coroners’ decisions on how to label deaths).
Atkinson: Goes a step further and argues that even qualitative methods cannot reveal the ‘real rate’ of suicide since we can never know the meanings the deceased held. Research can only reveal how the living make sense of the deaths – eg how coroners come to make certain decisions.
Do postmodernists say it is desirable for sociology to be a science and why
No - Science is a meta-narrative: a big story that falsely claims the truth - not one view is more valid then another
Scientific approaches create a monopoly of truth with is dangerous and excludes other point of views
Do feminists say it is desirable for sociology to be a science and why
No - Technically, feminists are structural, but they are a slightly strange group when it comes to research as they prefer to use qualitative approaches.
Not desirable for Sociology to be a science: Science is male-dominated and has historically excluded women.
Scientific quantitative methods oppress women: Eg structured interviews often impose the researchers view (who decides the questions and answers in advance), silence women and fail to capture the reality of women’s experience.
Do late modernists say it is desirable for sociology to be a science and why
No - Science has not always led to improvements to society (like Positivists suggest) and have created a ‘risk society’.
Therefore, if science produces negative consequences (dangers such as nuclear weapons) it would be inappropriate for Sociology to adopt it as a model.
What is Poppers view on if it is desirable for sociology to be a science
It is desirable but most of sociology is unscientific as it cannot be falsified
Some areas can be scientific if it has a clear hypothesis that can be falsified
What is deducative reasoning and falsification making something a science according to Popper
Deducative reasoning: Starting with a theory and using research to attemmpt to disprove it (falisy)
Falisifcation: opposite of verificationism (positivism) means that a statement must have the potential of being proved wrong - there must be evidence avaliable that has the potential to prove it wrong. If a theory withstands the attempts = a science
What is Poppers overall view of sociology being a science
Most of sociology is unscientific because it consists of theories which cannot be put to the test with the possibility of being falsified
eg Marxism - no evidence to prove a revolution will occur as marxists claim it has not happened yet due to false class consciousness
It can be scientific if they produce hypotheses that can in prinicple be falsified
What is Kuhn’s view on if it is desirable for sociology to be a science
Sociology is not currenlty a science (it is in it’s pre-science stage) due to a lack of shared paradigm
There is potential for sociology to be a science if it establishes a shared paradigm in the future
Unclear on whether it is desirable for soicology to be a science
