THE HISTORY OF SOCIOLOGY

Chapter 1

Ms. Raab

Please fill in your outline as we proceed.

AUGUSTE COMTE (1798-1857)

Coined the term sociology from Socius - social Logos - study of

A new science that would engage in the study of society and human behavior

Thought it would lead to more rational human interactions (Coming from French Revolution) Believed in Positivism

POSITIVISMA belief that the world can best be understood

through scientific inquiry

Knowledge moved through 3 stages:1. Theological stage: explanations

were based on religion and the supernatural2. Metaphysical stage: explanations were based on abstract philosophical thought3. Scientific/positive stage: explanations are based on systematic observation and experimentation

HARRIET MARTINEAU (1802-1876)Translated and condensed Comte’s works…

Believed in a “do something” sociology.

Focused on social distinctions based on class, race and gender

Explored the status of women, children and “sufferers” (criminals, mentally ill, handicapped, poor. etc)

A better society would emerge if women and men were treated equally and cooperation existed among people in all social classes.

HERBERT SPENCER (1820-1903)Believed societies developed through “struggle” and “fitness”

“Natural” that some are rich and others are poor.

Social Darwinsim - belief that those species of animals, including human beings, best adapted to their environment survive and prosper, whereas those poorly adapted die out. This was used as a rationale for racial discrimination

Noted that societies are bound to change over time

EMILE DURKHEIM (1858-1917)

Stressed that people are the product of their social environment - behavior can not be understood in terms of an individual

Studied industrialization and found as workers become more specialized it led to anomie

Anomie - loss of direction felt by a society when individuals have lost their sense of belonging - individual lost sense of purpose Suicide Theory - finds that increased individualism produces higher suicide rates

- Protestant v. Catholic

SUICIDE & SUICIDE THEORY

Very popular topic of study for sociologists:1. Once people contemplate or attempt suicide, they must be considered suicidal for the rest of their lives.

2. In the United States, suicide occurs on the average of one every seventeen minutes.

3. Alcohol and drugs are outlets for anger and thus reduce the risk of suicide.

4. Older women have lower rates of both attempted and completed suicide than older men.

MAX WEBER (1864 - 1920)

Focused on “understanding” or “insight” in intellectual work “verstehen”

To study behavior, we need to focus on how one views themselves and their own behavior Researchers should take into account people’s emotions, thoughts, beliefs and attitudes

KARL MARX (1818 - 1883)

Believed conflict is a constant variable of society

Class conflict breeds social change

– Working class - “proletariat” - those who must sell their labor in order to live

– Capitalist class - “bourgeoisie” - those who own and control the means of production (tools, land, factories, and money for investment)

– Capitalist’s control the working class = Class conflict– Leads to alienation

• A feeling of powerlessness and isolation from other people

KARL MARX (1818 - 1883)

His ultimate goal = classless society Writes the Communist Manifesto to urge

the proletariat (working class) to rise up and overthrow the bourgeoisie (capitalist class)

THEORIES

All of the theories we have learned are important

Why?They are “general statements about how the world fits together and functions and that yield predictions that can be tested.”

Testing theories Must generate predictions which can be checked in the

real world. "Research" is the term for making systematic

observations that test our theories.

INDIVIDUALISM > SUICIDE RATES "individualism" the independent variable (cause), "suicide rates" the dependent variable (effect)

Measurement? Suicide rates are fairly straightforward, percent and number. But how do we measure the degree of individualism in a group or society?

Using just the religion variable, our diagram now looks like this:PROTESTANTISM > INDIVIDUALISM > HIGH SUICIDE RATES When a theory is "operationalized" this way, an extra complication enters into the testing.