background to sociology

7/28/2019 Background to Sociology

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Background to Sociology

Scientific revolution of 17th century

Enlightenment Philosophy of 18th c.

French Revolution (1789--)

Industrial Revolution (19th century)


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Scientific Revolution

Newton: physical world governed by

invariant laws

Locke: all ideas from sensations, from theoutside

Descartes: supremacy of reason, cognition

Francis Bacon: empiricism


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Church View

Life here and now a preparation for the

afterlife, entry into the kingdom of God

Humanity under curse of original sin

Physical universe is Gods mystery

Active providence

Knowledge from authority, tradition

Humanity in decline (The Fall)


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The Enlightenment

Happiness in the here and now

Freedom from physical and mental coercion

Reason: as a human faculty and as a force

Nature: nature is reasonable, can reveal

Natural Law, affect human conduct

Natural Science as method of understanding

Progress: human world can get better


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Extension of Enlightenment

principles Natural law and natural rights the basis of the

political community

Pursuit of individual interests is good Political freedom is natural including freedom to

own land

Education should be for the development of

human faculties

Knowledge should be based on empirical analysis


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Auguste Comte

Tried to overcome conflicting points ofview through science

Believed that warfare caused by differingpoints of view based on substandardknowledge

Thought that science and the scientificmethod could provide a new authoritativebelief system


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Comtes Law of three stages

Human thought has evolved through these

stages:

Theological

Metaphysical (abstract principles)

Positive (scientific)


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The Sciences have progressed by

moving into the positive stage in

a sequence

Mathematics, Astronomy, Physics,

Chemistry, Phrenology (psychology?), (andfinally) SOCIOLOGY


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Sociology would provide the new

blueprint for a society With a plan based on science, society could

be reorganized to achieve peace and

prosperity (order and progress) A system of education, industry, and law

based on the science of sociology

A world government to settle disputes andavoid war


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Problems with Comte:

Phrenology a pseudo-science

Premise that we are born to fulfill a

specialized role is suspect (naturalinequality)

Replaced dogma of Church with dogma of

Sociology

Vision of a managed society


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Emile Durkheim

Tried to give respectability to sociology

Criticized the assumptions of the liberal

society of his time (19th century)

Founder of Functionalism

Worked from the Positivist perspective


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Durkheims positivism

There is a unity to nature

Social phenomenon are part of the objective

world of nature

Social phenomenon are subject to their own

laws which are natural

Social causality


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Basic Concepts (Durkheim)

Social Facts as objective reality

Social Facts (1)=Rates

Social Facts(2)=institutions (with their

rules)

Are external to the individual

Exercise a constraint


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Durkheimmore concepts

Mechanical Solidarity (the bond based on

similarity)

Organic Solidarity (the bond based oninterdependence and specialization)


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Suicide StudyChallenged

these: Suicide caused by climate/geography

Suicide caused by Race (genetic factors)

Suicide caused by Mental Disease


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Suicide rates are social facts

Protestant rates higher

than Catholics, higher

than Jews Single persons rate

higher than married

People from small

families higher thanpeople from large

families

Higher education,

higher suicide rate

Society duringpeacetime higher than

wartime


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One Cause: higher degree of

Egoism Weaker bonds within the group, or weaker

social solidarity

Or, isolation from a group

Egoism=little shared group life or,

weakened social integration


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Opposite of Egoism=Altruism

Group bonds too strong, life of individual

unimportant compared to group


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Another dimension: Anomie

Changes in relation between the individual

and controlling circumstances

Anomie= being without norms (rules)

A-norm


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Examples:

Divorce

Widowhood

Unemployment

Losing wealth

Rapid wealth gain


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Opposite of Anomie=Fatalism

Excessive regulation


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Examples:

Suicide of prisoners

Suicide of slaves

Suicide by wives in a traditional family

system


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Karl Marx 1818-1883

Philosophy Student, Journalism

Allied with Left Hegelians in 1840s

Germany-Belgium-France-England

International Workers Movement

Best known for Manifesto of the

Communist League and Capital


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Basics:

Humans must (necessarily) interact with

natural environment through human labor

Humans produce their means ofsubsistence

Humans create their own history (including

the institutions of human society)although they are not always aware of it


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Marx: Stages of Human Societies

1.Pre-class (tribal)

2. Asiatic

3. Ancient (Greece, Rome)

4. Feudalism

5. Capitalism


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History based on Class

Conflict Class structure different depending on type

of society

Tribal societies have no social classstructure


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Capitalism

Bourgeoisie vs. Proletariat


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Workers Protest Through:

Labor Unions

Political Parties

Underground Parties


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The Sociology of Karl Marx

Progress through the development of the

forces of production

Philosophy, religion and the idea systemsof a society based on the nature of the

economic base of a society (the forces and

relations of production taken together)


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Economic base consists of:

Productive forces (labor power, means of

production [tools etc], raw materials)

Social Relations of Production (the propertyrelations, system of ownership)


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Marx: major concerns

How social life is structured by the

commodity relationship under capitalism

(alienation, treating people as a means to anend)

Economic crisis of capitalism, monopoly

Social change


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Marx: Dialectical and anti-

positivist

Capitalism has laws, but are

specific to this mode of production.Society and its institutions are

ultimately under the control of the

members.


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Max Webers sociology: context

Historical school (study the unique cultural

productions of a society)

Positivism=look for the general laws thatstructure societies


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Webers method:

Rejects Positivism (need to look at the

meaning that events, actions have for a

group)=Verstehen sociology Rejects historicism. There are a relatively

small number of concepts that enable us to

comprehend various societies and thehistorical past.


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Limited number of types of social

action: 1. Rationally purposeful action

(Zweckrational) instrumental rationality

(varies among individuals) 2. Vertrational=Value-rational goals or

ends defined in terms of subjectivelymeaningful values (noble death)(salvation)

3. Affective action (emotional, impulsive)

4.Traditional


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Limited number of types of

authority: 1. Legal rational

2. Traditional

3. Charismatic


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Webers concerns:

1. Uniqueness of Western Society=Science andCapitalism

2. Capitalism (bureaucracy) has standardized theexperiences of all individuals (iron cage of

bureaucracy) loss of magic

3. How religion influences personality andbehavior

4. Use of sociology to deal with problems ofGerman Society


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Webers sociological method

Value freedom (separation of analysis from

personal values)

Sociological inquiry cannot establish values

Verstehen (interpretive) method

No reconciliation between individual and

society (competing demands)


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Comparisons:

Marx: sociology for enlightenment, de-

mystification of understanding

Durkheim: search for General Laws ofhuman society (cannot be changed, only

adapted to)

Weber: cannot escape from the structuredchoices that individuals face


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Current major approaches:

1 functionalism (how do actions, activities

maintain the social order?)

2. Symbolic interactionismin interactionpeople create rules, meanings

3. Conflict theory


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Causality in sciencemetaphor?

Positivism: cause-effect model independent

variable causing changes in dependent

variable Weber: multiple causes (meaning

antecedents or limiting factors)

Marx: system of capitalism imposes limitson behavior


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Sociological Research

1.experiments

2. Surveys

3. Observation (unobtrusive) and

participant

4. Comparative and Historical

5. Analysis of existing data (archival)

6. Community, institutional study.


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Approach to Research

1. Researchable Problem

2. Review Literature

3. Formulating a Hypothesis --operational

definitions

4. Research Design

5. Data Collection

6. Data Analysis 7. conclusions


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Major approaches (Text)

Functionalism

Conflict theory

Symbolic Interactionist (Interactionist)


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Other approaches

Critical Theory (Frankfurt School)

(used Marx and Freud)

(capitalism and culture)

background to sociology

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