INTRO Flashcards
what are beliefs in society ?
these are the things that are held to be socially constructed which can be secular or religious
name the 3 key beliefs in society ?
- RELIGION
- IDEOLGIES
SCIENCE
what is the definition of religion ?
Religion- beliefs in a supernatural being and events and conditions on earth are a result of supernatural influence
what is the definition of ideologies?
ideologies- a set of beliefs or principles that support the interest of a social group eg Feminism or marxism
what is the definition of science ?
Science- a pursuit supported by empirical evidence that is objective and value free
define pre modernity
pre modernity - an time in society that was characterised by agriculture , religion and superstition, this was very influential in the pre modern period in the 17th centry
what type of century was pre modernity ?
the 17th century
define modernity and the century it was found in
modernity was the period in time where people began to think rationaly using logic and enlightenment, scince started to challenge religion for example science proved that the earth revolved round the sun not the other away around which was stated in the bible
what century did modernity start to rise?
17th century to the mid 19th century
name some sociological theorists that can be used as evidence of the modernity period
- BRUCE - suggested that the growth of science was the biggest challenge to religion in this period
- WEBER - stated that the process of disenchantment started to appear where the magical and mystical element of life began to erode
- POPER- argued that a hypothesis must be seen as capable of being falsified by empirical evidence
what does disenchantment mean ?
- disenchantment is the process where the magical , mystical element of life is eroded
what is late modernity ?
1970s onwards - late modernity refers to the period of time that is characterised by highly developed society where people begin to remove away from tradition and begin to think more as individuals
name a theorist that discusses late modernity?
GIDDENS - HE ARGUES THAT late modernity is characterised by rapid social change
what do some people think about late modernity ?
some people believe that we are still in a late modern period although giddens believes we have not yet reached postmodernity
explain postmodernity
postmodernity is believed to be from 1980s onwards , many people think we have not yet reached postmodernity however postmodernists argue that around 1980s society has changed so rapidly that it is marked by uncertainty and chaos
what does LYOTARD argue relating to postmodernity
HE claims that the world can no longer be understood through metanarratives ( general theory’s or beliefs systems that try to explain the world) science therefore can no longer claim superiority of its scientific knowledge for example the bola outbreak , it was reported the role of the church was very significant in preventing the spread of diseases through changing burial procedures rather than teh scientific advice that was alod avalible
what are the key characteristics of a religious belief system ?
- it is a CLOSED KNOWLDGE SYSTEM - which means that basic beliefs within the religion do not change over time for example , Christianity and Islam the belife of a heaven and a hell has not changed over these past hundred of years
- EMPIRICAL EVIDNEC IS NOT NECESSARY -
- some religions CLAIM A MONOPOLY OF TRUTH - claiming to know all the answers of life
how does religion challenge science ?
- many religions are creationist which mean that they believe that god created the world rather than in evolution Mainline Protestants and the Catholic Church support this idea
- Catholics also believe that the earth was the centre of the universe despite Galileo challenging this idea
what are some contemporary issues and problems with religion today ?
- many people have lost faith in particular froms of religion due to corruption for example child sex abuse in the catholic church which has lead to a decline in some forms of religion
- religion can cause major conflict in many countries for example in Israel, Palestine , Afghanistan with the take over of the Taliban , Syria.
- can be misinterpreted to suit the political needs of powerful groups.
name some key characteristics of science as a belief system
- it makes claims which are based on empirical evidence
- it is an open belief system which means that scientific knowledge is true until falsified - poper
- it claims to be objective ( free from bias )
how does science challenge religion ?
- through evolution, Darwin’s theory this challenges the idea of creationism
- gallios findings of the earth not being the centre of the world
what are some contemporary issues on science today
- Marxist would argue that science encourages capitalism this is because drug companies are motivated by profit and might cut corners
- femnist would argue that science is heavily male dominated which therefore reflects the intrests of men
- science has created issues such as global warming
what are some key characteristics of ideologies ?
- they are secular which means they do not belive in the supernatural
- they do not need empirical evidence to assert their vlaims, and are not interested in objectivity ( similar to religion)
- they want social and political change
what are some examples of ideologies ?
Marxists- see capitalist society as operating in the interests of the ruling class and want to see the working class free from this oppression
femnists - see society as male dominated and reflecting patriarchal ideology
what are some contemporary issues with ideologies
- some claim that ideologies such as marxism are no longer relvent today in a world where identity is not based on social class but is rayher complex and fragmented
- feminism as an ideology has had huge success improving equality patriarchy continue , for example the equal pay audit 2018 shows women are still being under payed
how do ideologies challenge scince and religion ?
- ideologies argue that scinece and religion are both ran by powerful groups who shape ideas to suit the powerful for example gramsci marxists claims that the rrulling class ideas of society are imposed on the working class this is called hegmony
who argues that ideas of the rulling class are imposed on the working class and what is this called?
GRAMSCI - marxits theorist argues that the ideas of the rulling class are imposed on the working class and he calls this hegmony
