Before commencing a discussion on analyzing the article “What makes sociology a different discipline” from the other sciences we should have the know-how about sociology. In the words of modern thinkers of sociology namely Karl Marx, Max Weber and Emile Durkheim “Social fact should be the subject matter for the study of social life and can provide explanations for human thinking and behavior (p19)”. What we infer from the above definition is that man is born as a social animal. Man cannot live alone. He prefers to live in groups and his behavior that is actions and deeds are well governed and regulated by certain rules and laws of conduct that comprises of moral ethics and civic standards. His standard of living is said to be within the …show more content…
Social facts have existence as a separate entity and it does not get affected by the individual behavior. In other words, social facts are the outcome of the state of the collective mind. The stress on the above feature makes sociology different from the rules of sociological method. Further, in favor of his argument Durkheim says that as an individual of the society the person inculcates automatically the behavioral deeds and actions with or without prior knowledge. No one is coercive on the imposition of laws and rules. If anyone goes against he is fined or a penalty is imposed for not obeying the laws of the society. To put forth his ideas in an effective manner he argues that society as a whole is an amalgamation of political platforms, partial groups such as literary schools, religious organizations etc which are bonded through certain sentiments. In his opinion, if the individual does not act in favor of a group and its principles that work for good cause and the betterment of the individuals and the society, he is made to face everything alone leading to atrocities and horrifying incidents.
To prove his point he cites an example with regard to the upbringing of a child at home by the parents and the educational assistance that a child gets from the school. In order to mould a child into a good and responsible citizen the schools teach discipline, respect
Sociology is defined as ‘The study of human social life, groups and societies’ (Giddens, 1989). It involves describing and analysing how different forces such as social, cultural, political, and economic have on behaviour and an individuals identity. (Van Kreiken et al.2000). Furthermore, it encompasses the complex connections on a micro level along with those on a macro level thus enabling sociological imagination.
Sociology is the study of social life and the change and consequences of human behavior. Human behavior is social in nature, the topic of sociology ranges from divisions of race, gender and sociology of work and sports. In my opinion, sociology is one of the few fields which have such a broad scope and relevance for breadth, depth and application.
In this essay, I will assess the strengths and limitations of unstructured interviews for investigating the effect of material deprivation on educational achievement by using Item B and my own knowledge. Material deprivation is the idea that a lack of money leads to disadvantages, Item B gives an example of ‘low household income, poor housing and a lack of work space in the home.’
Sociology is very hard to give one definition to, as it is a century old and contains methodical approaches and theoretical approaches. One way to look at sociology is to look at people and how they are affected by society and how society affects them. Also, how they are associated by institutions, groups and societies. Sociology is a relatively new academic discipline. Emerged in the 19th Century as people were starting to challenge modernity. The world was advancing, and people were becoming aware of different societies. Sociologists realised that they needed to find out how different groups held themselves together and possible solutions to social solidarity. Sociology was coined by a man called Auguste Comte and is little more than historical interest. (Piero, 2016) He wanted to show that sociology was important and that it could improve a society and direct human activity, and this was developed to remedy the social malaise of the French revolution calling for new social doctrine based on sciences.(Ritzer,2003) .Other classical theorists of this time were Karl Marx, Max Weber and Emile Durkheim. Their historical context has had continued importance and their ideas have been used throughout history. “People were using science instead of religion to understand the world” (Giddens, 2006). Emile Durkheim had more of a lasting impact than Comte although Durkheim used a
Emile Durkheim is considered to be the Father of Sociology. In contrast to Karl Marx’s theory of Sociology, Durkheim believed that society is made up of a bunch of social facts and can be studied empirically. Durkheim did put a lot of emphasis on the idea of social facts. This made him stand apart from all other theorists and their ideas. (Ritzer 2004) This is what Durkheim said of social facts.
After reviewing the article titles given for this first assignment, I believe they indicate that Sociology, generally speaking, is not only a study of diversity or commonality in traits among people; it is also a science about factors in a person’s life and how these factors culminate responses. Interestingly enough, its topics of concern seem to be directly determined by current and common events of the world. Through the invention and expansion of new ideas, popular trends and fashions through time, Sociology adapts to responsibly to service the very subjects of interest it studies; for, even the slightest change of a person’s daily experience can have an insurmountable impact on attitude, personal growth, family
In regards to (a) social facts, Durkheim refers to ideas, values and concepts that a society has developed over time and where each individual within this society shares. These ideas, values and concepts develop into behavioural patterns among the society and ultimately reach a point where
Sociology is the study of society and the different social structures within it. Sociology examines the role of the individual within society; it is viewed as the scientific study of society
Sociology was created as an academic discipline for many reasons. Sociology is the study of human society, which is how humans interact with each other. It is very important to study society and social interaction in order to better understand why people act the way they do. If you know why people act the way they do and the reason why they do what they do, you can decipher why people did things in the past and what they may do in the future. People such as Karl Marx, Emile Durkheim, and Max Weber all studied sociology in a way that expanded and made sociology the known, important field that ultimately resulted in the popularity. Karl Marx theories about society, hold that human societies
Identify the four major sociological theoretical paradigms. For each, what are the key tenets? How does each explain how society works?
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In this paper, I will describe sociology and the three main idea of sociology such as social forces, culture and social structure that I think will best explain the goals of sociology. Sociology is like the mother science which has amalgamated into it every aspect of human life. These different facets of social interactions have developed into different disciplines or subjects. Therefore, sociology is the foundation of the social sciences. All the human behavior and response are social and the subject matter of sociology ranges from the intimate family to religious; from the divisions of race, social class to the shared beliefs and values of general culture.
Social fact is the most important concept in mastering Durkheim’s theory because it is what Durkheim defined as the subject matter of sociology (Durkheim, 1972: 58).
According to Emile Durkheim, a social fact is a manner of acting, thinking and feeling engaged by individuals because and on condition that other members of the social group are also engaged in the same thing. He said that social facts exist outside human consciousness because it is external, objective and inherited. It is not in the mind of the person, it is in the environment. Social facts also have a coercive power that can have a causal influence. We often realize and be aware of the social fact if we stay away from them, resist or contradict because we are usually unaware of all the social facts. Social facts do not necessarily require social institutions or organizations for it to be recognized as a social fact because there are social facts that are not institutional facts. Social facts cannot be defined by their universality for it can only be defined in a collective aspect because it is practiced by the community, creating a collective action, making it social. Lastly, according to him, in a holistic perspective, social facts
However this description of sociology is only partially correct. To say that sociology is about people and humanity is not enough to distinguish it from the other subjects in the human sciences. For it is equally the case that Psychology, Social Policy, Economics and Social History, amongst