Is sociology a science- debate?

Question 1

What is the issue?

Answer 1

Weather sociology is a science

Question 2

For something to be considered a science, what are the 5 key components that it requires?

Answer 2

-Empirical
-Testable
-Theoretical
-Cumulative
-Objective

Question 2

Why was a scientific status desirable for early sociologists?

Answer 2

-Subjects that are seen as scientific tend to receive more funding and prestige
>The prestige of a subject attracts future generalise to the discipline
>Scientific subjects have high prestige, a popular choice at degree and a level
>Early sociologists went out of there way to claim the scientific status of sociology for this reason
>Scientific research more likely to get funding

Question 3

What is being empirical?

Answer 3

‘Knowable through our senses’
Information can be counted and measured

Question 4

What is being theoretical?

Answer 4

Seeks to uncover causal relationships between phenomena rather than simply describing phenomena

Question 5

What is being testable?

Answer 5

Can be revisited and examined as many times as needed
Knowledge is open to verification and refutation by others
It shouldn’t be possible to engage in the process of falsification (popper)

Question 6

What is being cumulative?

Answer 6

Should build on previous knowledge
Ever growing testable body of information

Question 7

What is being objective?

Answer 7

Science blocks out personal prejudices and political views in search of empirical predictions

Question 8

Debate- for its scientific, empirical (first paragraph) who believes this??

Answer 8

-Durkheim: social facts
-Marx: the capitalist structure is a social fact

Question 9

Debate- for its scientific, empirical (first paragraph)- Durkheim?

Answer 9

Argues there are external, independent real things that exist in the social world that can be observed and measured
e.g. social class, religion and language

Question 10

Debate- for its scientific, empirical (first paragraph)- Marx?

Answer 10

Argues that capitalist economic structure exists independently of individuals, it’s very real and can be observed and measured
e.g. wadge comparison vs how much money businesses make

Question 11

Debate- for its scientific, empirical (first paragraph)- criticism?

Answer 11

Say sociology’s not empirical as it tries to measure invisible phenomena, some of which cannot be measured e.g. religion faith and social class

Question 12

Debate- for its scientific, theoretical (first paragraph)- who are our sociologist?

Answer 12

Durkheim: groups are predictable

Question 13

Debate- for its scientific, theoretical (first paragraph)- Durkheim?

Answer 13

Concludes individuals cant be predicted but argues behaviour can
Used his study of suicide to show how it can be predicted that suicide is caused by the levels of integrations and regulations of certain groups e.g. protestant v catholic
-Can be predictions that the w/c are more likely to experience educational failure and poverty

Question 14

Debate- for its scientific, theoretical (first paragraph)- criticism?

Answer 14

Sociology is not as it studies different society’s and different individuals which are unpredictable & therefore no cause, predictive relationship can be found

Question 15

Debate- for its scientific, objective (first paragraph)- who are our sociologist?

Answer 15

Durkheim
No room for personal bias, preference, bias
Its value free

Question 16

Debate- for its scientific, objective (first paragraph)- Durkheim?

Answer 16

The hypothetivo-deductive method
Sociology can be value free, as long as this method is followed strictly
Again showed at Durkheim’s use pf the comparative method of his study of suicide

Question 17

Debate- for its scientific, objective (first paragraph)- criticism?

Answer 17

Sociology’s not, anything social is subjective and value free as it is created by value-biased individuals

Question 18

Debate- for its scientific, cumulative (first paragraph)- reason?

Answer 18

Knowledge builds on old knowledge e.g. linear progression
Shown in sociology as all research builds of other research

Question 19

Debate- for its scientific, testable (first paragraph)- who is our sociologist?

Answer 19

Durkheim: Functionalism and Marx: Marxism
Knowledge is open for verification its an open system

Question 20

Debate- for its scientific, testable (first paragraph)- what do Durkheim and Marx say?

Answer 20

Once a theory’s put together its open to verification from other theorists
Accounts for differences between Marxism and feminism
-Both look at same social structure, but both have different views
-Each theory is open to testing and retesting

Question 21

Debate- for its scientific, testable (first paragraph)- critics?

Answer 21

Everything social is value laden and biased & therefore sociological research is always biased and full of values
Therefore cannot be tested in a scientific wat

Question 22

Debate- for its scientific, (first paragraph)- Overall positivists view?

Answer 22

Sociology passes all the scientific criteria and should therefore be classes as a science
e.g. Durkheim says its objective as if the hyper method is used its free from personal opinion

Question 23

Debate- for its scientific (second paragraph)- according to Popper what is the inductive and deductive approach?

Answer 23

Deductive- starts with a theory or hypotheses, testes with research to see if it can be falsified (disapproval), if it cant be falsified then it isn’t scientific truth
Can be disproved in the future
-Whereas inductive (what Durkheim would use) starts with evidence to induce theory’s and theory’s can be verified with more evidence

Question 24

Debate- for its scientific (second paragraph)- according to Popper how can he criticise Marxism?

Answer 24

Believes they never falsified so cant be scientific as the revolution has never come when Marx says they have, he always pushes it back

Question 25

Debate- for its scientific (second paragraph)- according to Popper how can sociology be scientific?

Answer 25

Human theory’s that can be subject to be falsifiable and can be developed can be science
-Why cant the science methodology be applied to sociology

Question 26

Debate- for its scientific (second paragraph)- how can we challenge the idea its scientific?

Answer 26

That it may be falsifiable but in real scientific lab experiments variables can be controlled
Whereas in sociology were in the real world using field so we cant necessarily control variables so its difficult to see if its falsifiable

Question 27

Debate- for its scientific (second paragraph)- Overall conclusion?

Answer 27

Yes its a science but only if it follows the rigorous scientific methods used by poorer and Durkheim
and much sociological research does not

Question 28

Debate- against sociology being a science interpretivist (3rd para)

Answer 28

-Interpretivists believe society’s socially constructed so we are controlled
-We all develop meanings to everyday scenarios so unlike science human behaviour is unpredictable and difficult to measure
-Not hard facts so cant be falsifiable as its subject to interpretation so not a natural science
-Social action theories and some post modernist the way we classify society is a result of subjective meaning

Question 29

Debate- against sociology being a science interpretivist (3rd para)- Weber?

Answer 29

Weber says sociology should study society from the perspective of other people o understand how and why
-We need to gain verstehen which is subjective and requires opinions unlike science that’s objective
-Explains why it cant be a science

Question 30

Debate- against sociology being a science (4th para)
Is it even scientific- post modernist sociologists?

Answer 30

Rorty and Lyotard

Question 31

Debate- against sociology being a science (4th para)
Is it even scientific- Rorty?

Answer 31

Scientists have replaced priests as the sources of truth even though these truth change
e.g. flat earthers ridiculed

Question 32

Debate- against sociology being a science (4th para)
Is it even scientific- Lyotard?

Answer 32

Scientific language that we have developed to explain things limit us from looking at things in a different way
e.g. gravity

Question 33

Is sociology a science- becks?

Answer 33

We live in a risk society (manufactured risk)
-introduction of nuclear weapons, global warming and other greed in society so therefore why would sociology want to be associated with it

Question 34

Billing- is sociology a science?

Answer 34

Sociology limits itself by trying to be scientific
If knowledge is to develop to grow, it’s important to embrace many different knowledge paradigms instead of trying to be purely scientific e.g. science with sociology, psychology, physiology and history

Question 35

Is sociology a science- wright mills?

Answer 35

The sociology imagination 1959
-Advocates what he called the sociological imagination. In this view it’s important to have a creative open minded towards research and not limited oneself to only one source of knowledge

Question 36

Is sociology a science- Bauman?

Answer 36

Follows this trial of thought by suggesting that in post modern for (liquid modern) era
Every knowledge system is worth investigating
Old restrictive structure of the past have broken down knowledge has become free. No longer tied down to science

Question 37

Debate- against sociology being a science (5th para)
Is it even scientific- Thomas Khun?

Answer 37

-Yes and no
-We go through stages
>pre-science: period of discovery where there was no central paradigm
>Normal science: where scientist used an established paradigm, like the theory of evolution, to support theories
>Revolutionary science: where the paradigms are challanged

Question 38

Whats a paradigm and paradigm shifts?

Answer 38

P- an accepted framework of theory, concepts and methodologies
PS- are when one (old) way of thinking is shoved away by a newer way of thinking

Question 39

Debate- against sociology being a science (5th para)
Is it even scientific- the case of dr velikovsky?

Answer 39

-‘Worlds in collision’ book on an alternate theory of the earth
-Current lay out of the solar system and the conditions on earth that were able to sustain life was a result of near misses between planets which created catastrophes which eventually led to the earth as we know it
-Research and ideas however were outright rejected by the scientific community, many of who did not even reads his books. His work was boycotted and his reputation left in tatters

Question 40

Summary of Kuhn?

Answer 40

Sociology behaves like its in a pre science as theirs no dominant perspectives and their are a lot of competing theory’s perspectives
Doesn’t say it is but doesn’t say it isn’t

Question 41

Is sociology a science- realism? sayer?

Answer 41

-most science is stereotypically seen as subjects such as physics, or chemistry as not all science is like this
-Sayer says within science we have closed system (psychics, already been proven true, number of variables so easily repeated)
And open system- meteorology and solar system more difficult to test science recognizes unpredictable like the weather can’t always be accurately predicted so can’t be based on observed, disagree with positivism, says it open system

Question 42

Is sociology a science- post modernism bauman and baudrillard?

Answer 42

Argue that science is a metanarrative, a big story it is no more valid than any other belief system

Question 43

Is sociology a science- feminism harding and heart?

Answer 43

Argue that science is inadequate as its malestrea as such holds little value to women e.g. men not research in menopause