Relationships Between Sociology and Other Social Sciences PDF

1 Relationships between Sociology and other Social Sciences A) Sociology and Anthropology Anthropology is the study of all aspects of life in simple societies, while sociology studies some aspects or processes of complex societies. But modernity le...

1 Relationships between Sociology and other Social Sciences A) Sociology and Anthropology Anthropology is the study of all aspects of life in simple societies, while sociology studies some aspects or processes of complex societies. But modernity led to even far-flung villages being impacted by global acts like colonialism and contemporary global processes have further accentuated this shrinking of the globe. Today the distinction between a simple society and a complex one is not very clear. India itself is a mix of tradition and modernity. Villages exists in the heart of Delhi, while Call centers serve American clients from small towns. Hence the spheres of anthropology and sociology are coming closer. Anthropologists use structural-functionalist approach, field work, participant observation as techniques of data collection, and these are now adopted by sociologists too. Sociology has borrowed concepts like cultural lag from cultural anthropology and the works of EB Tylor, while Marx communism inspired anthropologists. Darwin’s theory of evolution has contributed to both the disciplines. Malinowski studied religion using anthropological methods. Durkheim did an ethnography study of Arunta tribes to develop his division of labour theory. MN Srinivas, Andre Beteille and SC Dube used field studies to study Indian villages. Anthropologists led by Franz Boas have reflected on their previous theories of unilinear evolution, economic and geographic determinism and organismic analogy, in view of sociological thoughts. The rise of new nation states, sees them acquire a dualistic character. They show the features of both modern industrial societies as well as traditional small-scale societies. The study of these “Developing Societies” uses both sociological as well as social anthropological approach. Sociology can study tribes displaced by industrialization, while anthropology can study slum dwellers. Thus, a closer cooperation between the two is the need of the hour. B) Sociology and Psychology Psychology is the science of individual behavior. Sociology attempts to understand behavior as it is organized in society and shaped by different aspects of society. Durkheim who sought to establish a clear scope and method for sociology in his study of suicide left out individual intentions of those who commit or try to commit suicide. Weber and Dilthey, on the other hand, believe that sociological explanations can be further enriched if an attempt is made to understand social behavior in terms of underlying meanings. Cooley’s looking glass self is inspired from psychology. Ginsberg and Nadel also favour psychological interpretations. Gerth and Mills define 'role' as a meeting point between social structure and individual character and thus meeting point of social psychology and sociology. In contrast, Radcliffe Brown argues that sociology and psychology are entirely different systems where one studies the social system and other the mental system. Sigmund Freud gave more importance to inheritance over the environment and implied that sociology is merely an extension of social psychology. With increasing complexities in modern societies, sociology is also concerned with decoding symbolism which people manifest through social actions (symbolic interactionism of Mead). There are topics of common interest to both, like crime, juvenile delinquency, propaganda, socialization, imitation, domestic violence, alcoholism, etc. Gun violence in USA has been a subject of both psychological and social discourses in recent times. Indoctrination of vulnerable youths is another area of convergence. Note: This Article is for personal use only.  2 Though problem of relation between sociology and psychology is still disputed, both cross each other to understand processes which were originally thought to be compartmentalized. C) Sociology and History: “Sociology without History is rootless and History without Sociology is fruitless” Historians study the past; sociologists are more interested in the contemporary or recent past. According to Radcliff Brown “sociology is nomothetic, while history is idiographic”. In other words sociology is analytical and generalizing while history is descriptive and particularizing. However, there are works of historians which focus on patterns while sometimes sociologists have concerned themselves with the study of unique event. An example of the former is R.H. Tawney’s “Religion and the Rise of Capitalism”, while “The Polish Peasant” by Thomas and Znaniecki is as idiographic as any historical study can be. Historical accounts of phenomena like industrial revolution have served as source of data for sociological studies. While, Durkheim’s work influenced Marc Bloch and Lucien Febvre, who laid the foundation of the Annales School of History to study long term social history. Works like Weber’s “Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism” and Sorokin’s “Social and Cultural Dynamics”, blur the line of demarcation between history and sociology. Marx speaks of historical materialism. Indology as followed by GS Ghurye and Louis Dumont also includes a study of history. As EH Carr put it, the more sociological the history becomes and more historical the sociology becomes, the better it is. Note: This Article is for personal use only.