Sociology and Science Flashcards
Which positivist coined the term Sociology?
Comte
What is Comte’s view on sociology as a science
Sociology is a science as we can apply the methods and logics of natural sciences to sociology
- This will bring us true objective knowledge
According to Positivists , what is society made up of
It is made up of social facts that actually exist, just like the physical facts of natural sciences e.g stars
What is inductive reasoning?
A method of discovering laws that will tell you how society works
favoured by positivists
What does inductive reasoning involve?
accumulating data about the world through careful observation
-we can then develop general patterns
From inductive reasoning, what can be developed?
a theory that explains all previous observations
-we can then prove this theory true with other observations (verifcationism)
-once verified we can make general laws
What can these general laws be used for?
To guide social policies and predict future events e.g material deprovation leads to edcuational failure so policies can be developed to attack it
why do positivists favour quantative methods?
-to ensure objectivity
-subjective feelings/prejudices do not influence the research or analysis of findings
How does Durkheim prove sociology was a science?
-Quantative data from OS on suicide rate to find patterns
-found protestants more likely to commit suicide (social fact)
-This social fact caused by another social fact
-Concluded levels of integration and regulation was responsible for suicide rates
-This was a ‘real law’
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According to interpretevists why can natural science methods not be used for sociology?
-Different subject matter
-natural sciences study matter, with no consciousness so reactions are due to external stimulus
-sociology studies people who have consciousness so our reactions are based on internal thoughts
Hpw do interpretevists criticise yhe view we are manipulated by external ‘social facts’
We are not passive puppets
-We construct our own social world through the meaning we give to it
How does Weber argue we should grasp meaning behind behaviours?
Verstehen
-In which we see the world from the individuals point of view, gainign subjective knowledge
Why do interpretevists favour qualitative methods?
produces richer, more personal data so we can understand the actors meaning
What is the interactionalist view of studying sociology
Type of interepretevists
Glasser and Strauss; believe we can have cause and effect but hypothesis shouldnt be generated prior to observing unlike positivists suggest
-Grounded theory, generate hypothesis during
What do ethnomethodologists and phenomenologists believe abouy studying sociolgy
-cause and effect can not be established as society is not an external force, it only exists in peoples consciousness
What is Douglas view (interpretevist) on studying suicide?
-Criticise Durkheims use of OS as only tells us what was labelled as suicide
-case studies of those who have commited suicide should be used to reveal the actors meanings and true rate of suicide
What is the Postmodenist view of a scientific sociology
Sociology cannot be a science as science is a ‘meta-narrative’
-a scientific approach is dangerous as it has one monopoly of truth, excludes other viewpoints.
-The idea of one ideology has proved dangerous e.g Nazism
How does Popper criticise the positivists idea of induction and verificationism?
Uses the concept of swans to demonstrate the ‘fallacy of induction’
-we can never prove a theory 100% correct by just finding more observations that verify it
