Topic 3 - Sociology & Science

Question 1

Sociology is a Science - Comte [2]

Answer 1

• Science = there to explain how things relate to each other + it’s possible to discover the laws that control & shape the behaviour of people in society.
• Main task of Sociology is to discover general laws of social dev. through:
  Laws of co-existence: looking at the relationship betw. parts of society

Laws of succession: laws that govern social change

Question 2

Sociology is a Science - Durkheim [2]

+ Criticism

Answer 2

• Criticised Comte arguing he’d failed to study sociology as a science
• Believed sociology is a science as we can study social facts as things to observe & measure (e.g. suicide rate)

Criticism:
Durkheim’s own research was based on subjectivity as he studied suicide due to a close friend committing suicide.

Question 3

Sociology is not a Science - Popper [2]

Answer 3

• Sociology doesn’t undergo falsification (being challenged by a deductive method to prove it wrong)
• Many sociological ideas are too abstract to be tested.

Question 4

Sociology is not a Science - Weber [2]

Answer 4

• Sociology is subjective & draws on ideas of verstehen, relating to opinions
• Science is strongly objective and sociology could not be considered a science.

Question 5

Sociology is & isn’t a science - Kuhn [3]

Answer 5

There are 3 stages of scientific claims:
Pre-science: a period of discovery w/ no central paradigm
Normal science: scientists used an established paradigm to support their theory
Revolutionary science: paradigms are challenged

• Kuhn argues sociology will never pass pre-science as it doesn’t have a dominant perspective