Sociology a science? Flashcards
Sociology is not science: interpretivists
No social facts as all socially constructed and have no reality attached outside meaning we attach.
As humans think and reflect scientific methods are inappropriate as don’t allow us to dig beneath surface of behaviours and actions.
Humans change behaviour if know being observed so should use qualitative methods to understand social action
subjective - science not appropriate for sociology as it gives objective results and data
purpose to understand human behaviour not quantify it using scientific methods
E: support - lots of social influences that contribute to s.c of science - objectivity undermined
Sociology is not science: Popper
sm involves formulating a hypothesis that can be subjected to falsification
Principle of falsification - more it stands up to be falsified more it can be considered a scientific truth.
popper - much of sociology is unscientific as it has theories that cannot be put to test by falsification e.g. Marxists revolution can not be falsified as if there is or if not they are still correct
E: Can science really be objective and value free
Sociology is not science but could be if: Kuhn paradigms
Science operates within paradigms, meaning there’s fixed set of rules + principles that science uses - Kuhn no general paradigm reached so not scientific. Shown as sociology has a range of views and theoretical perspectives and no agreed set of norms and values e.g. feminists v functionalists. Can also have internal disagreements e.g. Merton with other funcs. Due to a lack of a paradigms that sociologists can agree = x science
Objectivity v Value freedom
open minded + avoiding bias vs beliefs and prejudices of a researcher should not influence the way research is carried out and interpreted
can and should: positivists
Durkheim can discover laws that determine how society works
Durkheim - society made up of social facts - things that exist in natural world outside of individuals but constrain behaviour.
Can be observed and measured to est. cause and effect as in science. Through use of research methods like official stats positivists can quantify causes of social evets and make generalisations + predictions. Durkheim’s study - est link between suicide and social integration and moral regulation.
Realists
