Early Social Thinkers Flashcards
1
Q
Auguste Comte (4)
A
- “founder of sociology” -> coined the terms sociology (the study of society)
- societies contain social statics (forces for order and stability) and social dynamics (forces for conflict and change)
- positivism=belief that the world can be understood through scientific inquiry
- human thinking & knowledge passes through several stages from simple to complex
1) theological stage: religion and supernatural. priests were leaders
2) metaphysical stage: abstract philosophical speculation. philosophers were leaders
3) scientific positive stage: systemic observation. scientists were leaders
2
Q
Harriet Martineau (6)
A
- female
- translated and condensed Comte’s work
- analyzed the consequences of industrialization and capitalism
- examined religion, politics, child rearing, slavery focusing on social distinctions based on class, race, and gender
- explored the statues of women, children, and “sufferers”
- advocated racial and gender equality, and cooperation among all social classes
3
Q
Herbert Spencer (4)
A
- societies developed through a process of struggle and fitness “survival of the fittest”
- his view is known as social Darwinism=animals best adapted for environment survive and those who aren’t die
- opposed social reform that interferes with the natural selection process
- flaws w/ his ideas because people can change the environment to survive and “survival of the fittest” justifies social inequalities
4
Q
Emile Durkheim (6)
A
- proponent of the scientific approach, one of the deepest roots of the sociological imagination
- people are the product of their social environment and behaviour cannot be fully be understood in terms of individual biological traits
- suggested that societies are built on social facts=patterned ways of acting, thinking, and feeling that exist outside any one individual but exert social control over people
- preindustrial societies were held together by members shared moral beliefs and values
- rapid social changes produced strains in society and a breakdown in traditional values
- resulted in anomie= social control becomes ineffective because of the loss of shared values and sense of purpose in society
5
Q
Karl Marx (8)
A
- history is a continuous clash between conflicting ideas and forces, and conflict is necessary to produce social change
- most important changes were economic
- capitalism was responsible for overwhelming poverty
- bourgeoisie (capitalist class)=those who own and control the means of production
- proletariat (working class)=sell their labour to earn a living
- capitalist control and exploit workers by paying less than the value of their labour -> feel powerless
- predicted the working class would become aware of the exploitation, over throw capitalists, and establish a free and classless society
- believed that society should not just be studied but changed because the status quo involved oppression
6
Q
Max Weber (5)
A
- disagreed with Marx’s idea that economics is the central force in social change
- sociology should be value free=research should be conducted in a scientific manner and should exclude personal values and economic interests
- sociologists cannot be totally value free but should attempt to see the world as others see it
- bureaucracy, not class struggle, was the most significant factor in determining social relations among people in industrial societies
- aware of women’s issues
7
Q
Georg Simmel(6)
A
- saw society as a web of patterned interactions among people
- analyzed how social interactions vary depending on the size of the group
- dyad (social group with 2 members) triad (3 members)
- formal sociology=focuses on universal, recurring social forms that underlie the varying content of social interaction
- concluded there’s more class conflict in modern industrialized societies (because of increased concern for the individuals rather than the group)
- ultimate concern was to protect the autonomy of the individual in society
