Reintroduction to Sociology Flashcards
Describe a simplied model of social research.
Empirical questions > Empirical findings > Normative questions > Normative findings
What are the types of questions in Sociology?
Empirical questions (descriptive), Normative questions (moral judgments).
Why is Sociology important?
It helps us understand the interconnectedness of reality and offers tools for analysis.
How do we start connecting Troubles and Issues?
Begin with examining “cherished values.”
What did Mills distinguish between Troubles and Issues?
Troubles: Private matters, individual threatened values.
Issues: Public matters, related to social institutions, debates about values.
What is needed to cope with the complexities of the modern world according to Mills?
“A quality of mind that will help them to use information and to develop reason…”
What did Mills say about the shaping of history and cherished values?
“…older ways of feeling and thinking have collapsed… newer beginnings are ambiguous to the point of moral stasis.”
What is “The Sociological Imagination” according to Mills?
“The quality of mind essential to grasp the interplay of man and society, of biography and history, of self and world”
What did Mills feel about life in society?
Described it as a series of traps.
