Intro to Sociology Flashcards
Sociology
Sociology is the scientific study of society and human behavior.
Sociological imagination
C. Wright Mill described sociological imagination as awareness of the relationship between an individual and wider society. This awareness allows all of us to comprehend the links between our immediate, personal social settings and the remote impersonal social world that surrounds us and helps to shape us .
Auguste Comte
He was the father of sociology. He believed in the potential of social scientists to work towards the betterment of the society. He named the scientific study of social patterns positivism.
Law of three Stages Comte
His sociological theory was the law of three stages:
1.Theological stage: This stage was seen from the perspective of 19 century in which mans place in society and society’s restrictions upon man were referenced to god. Man blindly believed in what he was taught by his ancestors.
2. Metaphysical stage: Humans started explaining causes in terms of abstract and mysterious things. This stage was known as the stage of the investigation, because people started reasoning and questioning, although no solid evidence was laid.
3. Positive stage: This stage was more advance as causes were explained in terms of scientific stages and laws.
Karl Marx
He was German philosopher and economist. He rejected Comte’s positivism. He believed that societies grew and changed as a result of struggles of different social classes over the means of production. The rise of capitalism led to great disparities in wealth between the factory owners and the workers. He focused more on the divide of the society. The bases of inequality in the society is economy according to him. His aim was to give rigorous scientific analysis. He called the factory owners parasites.
Harriet Martineau
She was the first women sociologist who introduced sociology in English speaking scholars through her translation of Comte’s writings. She created her own book and talked about great social reforms. She emphasized the impact that the economy, law, trade, and population could have on social problems of contemporary society. She spoke in favor of the rights of women, emancipation on slaves, and religious tolerance and public health care. Her idea was interpretive sociology which is very subjective. She became active in observing social practices and their effects on society. She believed that sociologist should not only study the issues of the society but also do something about them. She felt that the objective of the society was to serve the social needs of the individuals.
George Simmel
He was a German art critic who wrote widely on social and political issues as well. His thoughts were unconventional and he took an anti positivism stance. He addressed topics such as social conflicts, function of money and individual identity in city life. His work emphasized individual culture as the creative capacities of individuals.
Emile Durkheim
He helped establish sociology as a formal academic discipline by establishing the first European department of sociology. He believed that through studies it would be possible to determine if a society was healthy or pathological. Healthy societies were stable will pathological societies experienced a breakdown on their social norms. He did important theoretical work on suicide by examining suicide statistics in different police districts to research
differences between Catholic and Protestant communities. He attributed the differences to socio-religious
forces rather than to individual or psychological causes.
Max Weber
He believed that it was difficult to use the scientific methods to predict the behaviors of groups as some sociologists hoped to. He argued that the influence of culture on human behavior had to be taken into account. To deal with this problem Weber introduced the concept of verstehen a German word that means to understand in a deep way. His sociology was more of interpretive. He talked about internal social facts and social actions. In his view action is nothing until you attach a subjective measure to it. He identified various characteristics of bureaucracy as an ideal type.
