1. Lecture-2

2. Sociology as Social Science
In this chapter you will examine the nature and the
focus of sociology. A brief overview of sociology's
early years and current theoretical
perspectives are also presented.

3. Why Sociology a Science?
Like all scientists, sociologists follow five basic principles for
establishing and explaining facts:
Sociology relies on evidence. It demands proof.
Sociology minimizes error and bias by following many
techniques.
Sociology is a public venture. Open discussion and
examination of research gives sociology a self-correcting
mechanism.
 Sociology is concerned with generalizations.
Sociology seeks to relate facts to one another and to
underlying principles in order to produce theory;

4. What is Sociology?
█ Sociology
– Systematic study of
social behavior in
human groups

5. Definition of Sociology
Sociology is the science that studies human society
and social behavior.
Sociology is concerned with the study of human
society. (Giddens)

6. Why Study Sociology?
 Awareness of the cultural differences
 Assessing the effects of the policies
 Self-enlightenment/understanding yourself
 Making everyday decisions
 Career preparation

7. Promise of Sociology
 Sociology can make people aware of the different ways in which social
arrangements shape their lives.
 Sociology permits the user to examine the assumptions underlying
conventional wisdom
 Sociology permits the identification of problems that the public has
not yet recognized
 Sociologists can design and evaluate alternative solutions to social
problems
 Sociology can help people better understand their own experiences,
problems, and prospects.

8. The Sociological Imagination
Awareness of relationship between an individual
and the wider society.(C. Wright Mills)
Public issues or history & private issue or biography
Troubles are private problems in an individual’s
life.
Issues affect large numbers of people
Issues shape the context within which troubles arise.
Social issues arise when large numbers of people
experience problems rooted in the social structure of
society.

9. Sociology and Common Sense
Common sense is the knowledge people gain about
the world through their everyday experience.
On occasion, sociological findings and common sense do
overlap, but often, sociology challenges popular wisdom.
Common sense holds that ‘seeing is believing’. Sociologists
found that the reverse is also true: what we believe often
determines what we see; our perceptions are filtered through
the lens of our previous experiences, attitudes, and beliefs.
Problems with common sense
Limited experience
Biasness
Lack of evidence

10. Subjectivity and objectivity
Subjective: An attitude toward a situation in which
cultural/personal variations are permitted to affect
observation & judgment.
Objective: An attitude toward a situation in which
cultural/group evaluations and personal bias/interest
are absent/controlled/reduced to minimum.

11. Origins of Sociology
French Revolution
Industrial Revolution 17th and 18th centuries .

12. Among the classical founders of sociology, five figures
are particularly important;
Auguste Comte
Herbert Spencer
Karl Marx
Emile Durkheim
Max Weber

13. Development of Sociology:
 Auguste Comte (French) 1798–1857
Coined term sociology in 1839 to apply to science of
human behavior
Father of Sociology. .
He believed that all societies must progress through
certain fixed historical stages of development.
His approach to the study of social progress is called
‘positivism’.

14. Auguste Comte (Laws of three stages)
Theological: Belief in God
Metaphysical: from supernatural to natural
Positivism: Belief in science.

15. The Development of Sociology
Early Thinkers
Harriet Martineau 1802–1876
Translated works of Comte
 Emphasized impact economy, law, trade, health, and
population could have on social problems
 Believed that sociologists should act on their conviction in a
way that will benefit society


16. Herbert Spencer (English)
1820–1903
Father of ‘Social Darwinism’
Applied concept of evolution to explain how societies
“evolve” over time
Social Darwinist–i.e. promoter of the Darwinian concept of
survival of the fittest to the social world ⇒ depicted society
as a system, a whole made up of interrelated parts.
Idea of "Social Darwinism," held that societies are like living
organisms that evolve over time, eventually reaching a state
of perfection
Spencer, the father of social Darwinism, argued that
societies evolve from lower to higher forms. The most
capable survives while the least fit dies out. (survival of the
fittest)

17. Karl Marx 1818–1883 (German)
Father of Communism. "Das Capital, Communist Manifesto."
Emphasized importance of economy and of conflict in society
He saw factory as the center of conflict and between exploiters
(Bourgeoisie/Capitalist class) and exploited
( Proletariat/Working class)
Emphasized on group identification and association as an
indicator of status.
Marx’s theory of class struggle shows a theory of social change.

18. Surplus Value Theory
Major Contribution: Class Struggle, Surplus Value
and alienation theory
Surplus Value theory:
Actual Cost of Product = Cost of Raw Materials+
labor wages
Price of the product = cost of raw materials+
Wages+ Profit
Price of the product- actual cost of product =
Surplus Value
More exploitation, more surplus value, more
investment.

19. Emile Durkheim (France)
1858–1917
Pioneered work on suicide
Insisted behavior must be understood within larger social
context
Mentioned that industrialized societies may suffer from
anomie – loss of direction
 Major Contribution: Social Facts and Division of Labour
 Social facts are the ways of acting , thinking or feeling that are
external to human being, state of the economy, religion.
 Social facts exercise a coercive power over individuals.
 Division of Labor in Society (1893):
 -Mechanical solidarity: Grounded on consensus and similarity
of belief
 - and organic solidarity: economic interdependence

20. Emile Durkhiem: Mechanical and Organic Solidarity
Mechanical Solidarity
homogenous population
Little or no specialization
Shared Values and Beliefs
 traditional values
As a result of the dominance of a few shared values, society
mobilise people, collective consciousness
Little individual freedom
The status of the individual is determined by kinship
can
Organic Solidarity
Larger population spread out over a larger geographical area
Complex division of labor, high job specialization
Individuals are dependent on others to perform economic functions
that they themselves can not perform
Functional interdependence

21. Emile Durkheim
Mechanical Solidarity:
Example- Primitive society.
Organic solidarity:
Example: Urban and industrial society.

22. Max Weber (Germany)
1864–1920
 Social Action is the force behind change
 People are moving away from the traditional beliefs to the rational,
instrumental calculations.
 Max Weber, argue that, in order to truly understand a social
phenomenon, the researcher should be value-free or neutral.
Personal values should have no influence on research (value-free
sociology)
Ideal Type:
construct for
evaluating specific
cases

23. Micro Vs Macro Sociology
Macrosociology:
concentrates on largescale phenomena or
entire civilization
Microsociology:
stresses study of small
groups, often through
experimental means

24. What is a Theoretical Perspective?
Perspectives might best be viewed as models. Each
perspective makes assumptions about society.

25. The Functionalist Perspective (Social stability)
The origins of the functionalist perspective can be
traced to the work of Herbert Spencer and Emile
Durkheim.
 Functionalist perspective see society in terms of
functions, roles and activities. To the functionalist
society could be compared to living organism.
Understanding society from a functionalist
perspective is to visualize society as a system where
all the parts act together even though each part
may be doing different things.

26. Functionalist Perspective
Robert Merton
Manifest Functions:
open, stated,
conscious functions of
institutions; these
involve intended,
recognized,
consequences of an
aspect of society
Latent Functions:
unconscious or
unintended functions
that may reflect hidden
purposes of an
institution

27. Major Theoretical Perspectives
█ Functionalist Perspective
Dysfunction: element or process of society that may
actually disrupt a social system or reduce its stability

28. Functionalist Perspective
In brief, The Functionalist Perspective
views society as a system where the elements are
interlinked in a stable fashion.
identifies the structural characteristics and functions and
dysfunctions of institutions.
distinguishes between manifest functions and latent
functions.
assumes that most members of a society share a consensus
regarding their core beliefs and values.
 The main weakness of Functionalism is its tendency to
downplay the importance of power and social change.

29. Conflict Perspective (Social change)
• Conflict perspective assumes social behavior is best understood
in terms of conflict or tension between competing groups
• Conflict not necessarily violent can take the form of labor
negotiation, Party politics, competition between
religious
groups for new members or disputes over
federal budget
• Marx is a conflict theorist.
• The Marxist View: Conflict not merely a class
phenomenon, but part of everyday life in all societies
Emphasis on social change and redistribution of resources
makes conflict theorists more “radical” and “activist” than
functionalists.

30. Conflict Perspective
In brief, The Conflict Perspective
draws much of its inspiration from the work of Karl Marx
and argues that the structure of society and the nature of
social relationships are the result of past and ongoing
conflicts.
 highlights that some groups always benefit more from
the social arrangements.
 eventually narrates that the structure of society reflects
the efforts of those at the top maintaining their privileges
at the expense of those who lack the power to oppose
them.
 The main weakness of conflict theory is its failure to
explain social cohesion.

31. The Interactionist Perspective
(Social interaction)
The scope of investigation for these sociologists is very
small. They are interested in the way individuals act
toward, respond to, and influence one another in
society.
 Society occurs as a result of interaction between
individuals and small groups of individuals.

32. Major Theoretical Perspectives
█ Feminist Perspective
Views inequity in gender as central to all behavior and
organization
Sometimes allied with conflict theory, the feminist
perspective also focuses on micro-level relationships of
everyday life, just as interactionists do

33. Major Theoretical Perspectives
Sociologists use all perspectives
We gain broadest understanding of society by drawing
on all major perspectives, noting where they overlap or
where they diverge
Each perspective offers unique insights into the same
issue

34. Functionalist
Conflict
Interactionist
View of
Society
Stable, well-integrated
Characterized by tension and
struggle between groups
Active in influencing and affecting
everyday social interaction
Level of
Analysis
Emphasized
Macrosociological analysis Macrosociological analysis of
of large-scale patterns
large-scale patterns
Microsocial analysis as a way of
understanding the larger phenomena
View of the
Individual
People are socialized to
perform societal functions
People manipulate symbols and
create their social worlds through
interaction
People are shaped by power,
coercion and authority
View of the
Maintained through
Maintained through force and
Social Order cooperation and consensus coercion
View of
Predictable, reinforcing
Social Change
communication with others
Maintained by shared understanding of everyday behavior
Change takes place all the timeReflected in people’s position and
and may have positive
their
consequences