Test 1 Flashcards
Sociology is scientific. What does that mean.
Particular way of knowing about the world or a study of ways of knowing
Empiricism
knowing about the world by looking at it
What is the difference between highly empirical and less empirical?
High: pain/hurt
Less: Seeing pain/hurt
Thinking
Truth is best obtained through logic, you do not find truth by looking at the world because the world is deceptive
Science- the best way to know about the world is to look at the world itself.
- There is no truth until you test it
- It cant depend on whose looking
- Generally true everywhere and always
Feeling as it relates to empiricism
Faith-to believe without evidence
Art, Music, Lit-Artists and authors trying to create an empiracle reality
-Person trying to share something seen or felt.
Sociology looks at the social world ________________.
Empirically
It seeks to know about society by looking at data.
Science is __________ because it describes how the world is
Descriptive
Prescription is to _______ as Description is to___________
Prescription is to SHOULD as Description is to IS
Science says, this is how things are related, and then the SHOULD comes in.
-Science says exercise will make you fit
if you want to be fit you SHOULD exercise, if you want to be a Sumo wrestler you shouldnt
Sociology is Scientific, but it is also_____________.
Social
Reductionism
Everything is in parts and wholes, if the whole is too complex, break it down
This is humans default approach to the world
Durkheim wrote _______________. What did it argue?
Le Suicide. 1881 or 1882
It argued that the act of committing suicide might have might have to do with more than just the individual
What did Durkheim discover when he studied suicide data?
Suicide is not distributed randomly an that some groups were more likely to commit suicide.
What Variable effected suicides and why?
AGE- everyone around you gets old, friends die, lonely, Health issues, money-when you quit working you quit eating
URBAN/RURAL LIVING-Urban city dwellers much more likely
- RELIGION-jews rarely committed suicide because they werent welcome and stuck together
- minorities have low suicide rates
GENDER-men were more likley
-If a man was single he was more likely to commit suicide, but if a woman was single she had more freedom and was less likely
MARITAL STATUS-If a man was single he was more likely to commit suicide, but if a woman was single she had more freedom and was less likely
MORAL DENSITY- Not having close ties puts you at risk
Moral Density
Having meaningful ties to a group
/What does Durkheim conclude?
The most personal decision someone could make would be pushed by social things.
What did Durkheim argue regarding patterns?
When you see a pattern, there is always a reason
What did Durkheim mean when he said “Social Facts”?
Social Forces
Social Fact
Social Force- Things that are bigger than you that don’t change because you wish them to
Things decided outside of you by social group
What are some examples of Mundane social facts?
LANGAUGE YOU SPEAK- that is socially determined
THE WAY YOU DRESS-that is what society determines is ok
WHAT IS RIGHT AND WRONG-ultimate social fact
RELIGIOUS BELIEFS
ECONOMIC STATUS
Sui Generes
Of its own origin
Something that cannot be reduced into parts
You can understand how different sciences are related by treating them like….
Different levels of reality.
The whole of what one group studies might be a part of what another group studies
Emergence of science chart
Biology-Cells-------> Chemistry-Compounds and molecules -----> Physics-atoms -----> Particle physics- parts atoms are made of -----> Sociology-group behavior -----> Phycology-Behavior
Emergence
The whole is different from the sum of the parts
The properties are irreducible
Wholes have properties that the parts do not
Example: H20 Hydrogen=gas Oxygen=gas H20=liquid
Life is an _______________________.
Emergent Property
Why?
Individuals in groups behave different from when they are by themselves.
