Sociology and its Importance PDF

# Sociology And Its Importance ## Unit No. 1 **Writer:** Dr. Rukhsana Masood **Reviewer:** Dr. Iqbal Saif ## Part Three ### Units' Preview ## Sociology and its Importance ### 1.1 Introduction This unit covers the definition of sociology and a brief introduction about the questions sociologist...

# Sociology And Its Importance ## Unit No. 1 **Writer:** Dr. Rukhsana Masood **Reviewer:** Dr. Iqbal Saif ## Part Three ### Units' Preview ## Sociology and its Importance ### 1.1 Introduction This unit covers the definition of sociology and a brief introduction about the questions sociologists try to answer. It examines some philosophical questions pertaining to whether sociology is a science or not. It also discusses the origin and development of sociology as a discipline. ### 1.2 Objectives of the Unit After studying this unit, students will be able to: 1. To define sociology and discuss its importance to our everyday life. 2. To identify important historical factors in the development of sociology. 3. To describe an important sociological contribution made by early sociologists and modern developments in sociology. ### 1.3 Major Topics - What is sociology? - What is science? - Sociology as a science. - The development of sociology. - The origin: Early sociology - Modern developments. ### 1.4 What is Sociology? Sociology studies human social life, groups, and societies. Its subject matter is our own behavior as social beings. The main contribution of sociology is that it can help people better understand their own lives. It explains the relationship between personal experience and external events, between self and society. For example, an individual may see the closure of a local factory as a purely personal problem or even as a tragedy. Sociology can help to explain such experiences by exploring who is responsible for it and whether it is part of a wider social trend. The practice of sociology involves gaining knowledge about ourselves, the society in which we live, and others distinct from us in space and time. Sociology is the systematic study of social behavior and human societies. Sociology has extremely broad scope. Its goal is to identify underlying, recurring patterns of and influences on social behavior. Sociologists ask and try to answer a variety of questions --- factual, comparative, developmental, and theoretical. **Factual Questions:** Being members of a society, we all already have a certain amount of factual knowledge about it. For example, everyone in Pakistan is aware that there are laws that are supposed to be observed and that going against these laws carries the risk of criminal punishment. The average individual's knowledge of the legal system, the nature of crime, and the types of criminal activity is likely to be sketchy and incomplete. Many aspects of crime and justice need direct and systematic sociological investigation. Sociologist ask questions such as: - What forms of crime are most common? - What proportion of people who engage in criminal behavior are caught by the police? - How many of these are, in the end, found guilty? Factual questions are often more complicated and difficult to answer than one might think. **Comparative Questions:** Factual information about one society will not tell us how far we are dealing with an unusual case rather than a very general set of influences. Sociologists often want to ask comparative questions, relating one social context within a society to another, or contrasting examples drawn from different societies. In each society there are many institutions that help in the smooth running of society. Sociology helps in conducting a comparative study of such institutions. This comparison is not limiting. Sociology also compares different societies and their cultures. For the sake of development, progress, growth, and better knowledge about other societies, it is essential to have comparative studies. For instance, there are significant differences between the marriage systems of European societies and Indian and Pakistani societies. In European societies, arranging marriage is purely a matter of the concerned couple, while in India and Pakistan it is a responsibility of the parents to arrange the marriage of their children. **Developmental Questions:** In sociology, we need to look not only at existing societies in relation to one another but also to compare present and past. The questions sociologists ask here, are developmental. To understand the nature of the modern word, we have to look at pre-existing forms of society, and also study the main direction that processes of change have taken. For example, in Pakistani society, we can investigate how the custom of dowry originated and where it stands now. **Theoretical Questions:** Factual investigation concerns how things occur. Yet, sociology does not only collect facts, but also wants to know why things happen. To do so; sociologists have to learn to pose theoretical questions to enable us to interpret facts correctly, and in grasping the causes of whatever is the focus of a particular study. Theories involve constructing abstract interpretations, which can be used to explain a wide variety of empirical situations, because theory is an explanation of the relationship between two or more specific facts. **Examples:** 1. Durkheim attempted to explain a theoretical question, "Why do some categories of people have a higher suicide rate than others?" To do so, he linked one set of facts ("suicide rate") to another set of facts ("the level of social integration characteristic of these various categories of people." Through systematic comparisons, Durkheim was able to develop a theory of suicide, that people with low social integration are more prone to take their own lives. 2. Liddle and Joshi (1986) tried to find the answer to this theoretical question, "Why are women subordinated in the relations between the sexes in India". This question cannot be researched directly because it admits of too many possible solutions. Instead, Liddle and Joshi addressed a series of related questions designed to bring out the complex interplay between gender, class, caste and the experience of British imperialism in India. Through research, they found that women's subordination in India resulted from a combination of male control over economic resources within the caste system and cultural conventions controlling women's behavior and movements. These examples show the importance of theoretical questions, because they lead towards explanations of facts. We need theories to help us make sense of facts. For the development of theory, sociologists have to learn to pose theoretical questions. ### 1.5 What is Science? Science is the use of systematic methods of investigation, theoretical thinking, and the logical assessment of arguments, to develop a body of knowledge about a particular subject matter. Scientific work depends upon innovative thought, carefully collected evidence to support or reject the hypotheses and theories. Information and insights accumulated through scientific study are always, to some degree "tentative", open to be revised or even completely discarded, in the light of new evidence or arguments. Science has traditionally used two methods for the accumulation of knowledge: observation and experimentation. Laboratory experimentation is often considered the most accurate and ideal method of testing a hypothesis. In basic sciences, observation is also used to obtain knowledge, for example, a biologist may observe, record their observation, and attempt to explain aspects of organic life. Most of the laws of physics are also based on observation, such as Newton's law of gravity and laws of motion. The same applies to astronomers in respect of their field of inquiry. However, it is important that observations are made precisely and accurately. Sociologists make full use of observation but very little use of experiment. Instead, they have developed a battery of methods, of their own. **Scientific research of an explanatory kind, often involves establishing whether the scientist's initial idea or hypothesis is true or false. The research is the means by which the hypothesis becomes a proven theory. Here are different stages of the process of explanatory scientific enquiry.** 1. Observation. 2. Formulation of Hypothesis 3. Collection of Data. 4. Analysis of Data. 5. Test of Hypothesis Against Data (Stage 3-5 involve verification and measurement) 6. Confirmation or Rejection of Hypothesis. 7. Development of a theory. In natural science, a repeatedly continued hypothesis is known as a theory or law. ### 1.6 Is Sociology a Science? When we ask, "Is sociology a science?" We mean two things: 1. Can the discipline be closely modeled upon the procedures of natural science? 2. Can sociology hope to achieve the same kind of precise knowledge that natural scientists have developed in respect of the physical world? These issues have always been, to some degree, controversial. Like the other "social sciences", sociology is a scientific discipline in the sense that it involves systematic methods of investigation, the analysis of data, and the assessments of theories in the light of evidence and logical argument. Studying human beings, however, is different from observing events in the physical world, and neither the logical framework nor the findings of sociology can adequately be understood simply in terms of comparisons with natural science. In investigating social life, we deal with activities that are meaningful to the people who engage in them. Unlike objects in nature, humans are self-aware and capable of changing their behavior when they choose so. It is impossible to describe social life accurately unless, first of all, we grasp the meanings that people apply to their behavior. For example, we cannot say that a natural or an accidental death is a "suicide". Suicide can only occur where an individual activity intends "self-destruction". The fact is that sociologists cannot study human beings in exactly the same way as objects in natural science. So if science is defined broadly as the accumulation of verified knowledge, which has been secured through scientific investigation, then sociology is a science. Because sociology is able to employ the same general methods of investigation that all sciences do, like natural scientists, sociologist construct theories, collect and analyse data, conduct experiments and make observations, keep careful records, and try to arrive at precise and accurate conclusions. If it is defined narrowly as the testing of hypotheses by positivistic methodology, then sociology can hardly claim to be a science. ### 1.7 The Development of Sociology **Early Origin:** Human beings have always been curious about the source of their own behavior. But for thousands of years, our attempts to understand ourselves relied on ways of thinking passed down from generation to generation. Though we can find the traces of study of human societies as early as the fourteenth century in the work of Ibn Khaldun. The systematic study of human behavior, and human society is a relatively recent development in the West, whose beginnings can be found in the late eighteenth century. The background to the new approach was a series of sweeping changes, the French Revolution in 1789 and the industrial revolution brought to Europe. New industries and technologies changed the face of the social and physical environment. Large numbers of people, who were engaged in agriculture sector, had been leaving for work in factories. In consequence, cities grew at an unprecedented rate, providing an anonymous environment in which the custom and values of small, tight-knit traditional communities could scarcely survive. The shattering of traditional ways of life promoted the attempt to develop a new understanding of both the social and the natural world. No single individual can find a whole discipline, and there were many contributors to early sociological thinking. But the title 'founder of sociology', usually goes to the French Philosopher, Auguste Comte. **Abdul Rehman Ibn Khaldum:** Born on May 27, 1332 in Tunis, North Africa. He was a great Muslim scholar. In his lifetime, he served a variety of Sultans in Tunis, Morocco, Spain, and Algeria as ambassador and member of the scholar's council. He was the first to study society in a scientific manner and gave many ideas that are common with contemporary sociology. He was committed to the scientific study of society, empirical research, and the search for causes of social phenomena. He devoted considerable attention to various social institutions and their interrelationships. He was interested in comparing primitive and modern societies. **Auguste Comte:** Pride of place, is usually given to the French author, August Comte (1789-1857), because he actually coined the term, "Sociology". Comte's aim was to create a theoretical science of society, which would both explain the past development of mankind, and predict its future course. He hoped that the study of social behavior, in a systematic way, would eventually lead to more rational human interaction. Comte regarded sociology as the last science to develop, but as the most significant and complex of all science. According to Comte, society must be studies in the same scientific manner as the world of nature. He divided the study of society into social statics and social dynamics. **Social Statics:** involves those aspects of social life that have to do with order and stability and change. **Social Dynamics:** refers to those aspects of social life that have to do with social change and institutional development. **Herbert Spencer (1820-1903):** Spencer viewed society as similar to the living body. He depicted society as a system, a whole made up of interrelated parts, just as a human body is made up of organs like the kidneys, lungs, and heart etc., so society is made up of institutions like the family, religion, educational, the state, and the economy. Such an image of society is in line with what sociologists now call, structural functional theory (You will study about the theory in another course). For change, he found ideas in Charles Darwin's evolutionary theory. Spencer used the concept of evolution of animals to explain how societies change over time. Similarly, he adapted Darwin's view of the "survival of the fittest". Spencer felt that survival of the fittest occurs in both the biological and the social realms, and that there should be no interference with this process in the social world. **Karl Marx (1818-1883):** Marx's thinking was strongly influenced by the work of a German Philosopher, George Hegel. Hegel saw history as a dialectical process, a series of clashes between conflicting ideas and forces. Hegel focused on the dialectic of ideas, while Marx tried to embed his dialectical approach in the material world. This is an important transformation, because it allowed Marx to move the dialect out of the realm of philosophy, and into the realm of science of social relation. Under Marx's analysis, society was fundamentally divided between classes, who clash in pursuit of their own class interests. This view forms the basis for the contemporary sociological perspective of conflict. Although, Marx did not view himself as a sociologist, he made a critical contribution to the development of sociology and other social sciences. **Emile Durkheim (1858-1917):** The French sociologist believes that the sociologist, must study the social facts in the same way as scientists, study nature. By this, he means that social life can be analysed as thoroughly as objects or events in nature. His main work is the concept of social fact, or any pattern that is rooted in society rather than the experience of individuals. The basic examples are the value and norms of a society. One of his famous studies, regarding this, is concerned with suicide. He proved that the act of suicide, is influenced by social forces and is not simply the individual matter. Durkheim observed society as being characterized by three elements: 1. Society is structured. 2. Society has power. 3. The structural patterns can be viewed as facts. Like all the major founders of sociology, he was preoccupied with the changes transforming society. He tried to understand these changes in terms of the development of the division of labour. So Durkheim, differentiated between two types of solidarity. For most of history human societies were dominated by collective conscience, or moral consensus. He termed this mechanical solidarity, meaning social bonds based on shared morality that bring together members of pre-industrial societies. As this type declined, it was replaced by organic solidarity, or social bonds based on specialization, that unite members of industrial societies. In his view, the growing division of labour led to the stage of anomie. Anomie refers to loss of direction that is felt in a society, or a condition in which society provides little moral guidance to individuals. In this situation societal norms are conflicting or entirely absent. ### 1.7.2 Modern Development While the origins of sociology were mainly European, the subject has become firmly established world-wide, and some of the most important developments have taken place in the United States in the twentieth century. The work of George Herbert Mead, a teacher at the university of Chicago, has had an important influence on the development of sociological theory. He gave more attention to studying small-scale social processes than overall societies. He developed the new discipline of social psychology. The perspective he developed, is called symbolic interactionism. Talcott Parson was the most prominent American sociologist. He was one of the main contributors to the development of functionalism, the theoretical approach originally pioneered by Comte and Durkheim. In the early 1900s, many of the leading sociologists of the United States saw themselves as social reformers. They turned their attention to social problems and the lives of criminals, drug addicts, etc. and tried to improve a corrupt society. By the middle of the twentieth century, however, the focus of the discipline had shifted. Sociologists restricted themselves to theorizing and gathering information. Today sociology has not been limited to one viewpoint or concern. Its interests are more diverse than ever. It is not limited to old social problems such as stratification, power, or control. It also enters to study new areas such as the impact of modern industrial society or over population on the city planning and natural environment. So the sociologists today, are also busy in such fields as criminology, city planning, epidemiology, demography and policymaking, etc. ## Required Readings - Robertson, Ian. (1987) 'Sociology' 3rd edition. Worth Publishers, INC NY. pp 3-9 & 12-17. - Schaefer, T. Richard & Robert P. Lamm (1995) 'Sociology' 5th Ed. McGraw-Hill, INC. New York, New Delhi, pp 4-17 - Horton & Hunt (1964) 'Sociology' McGraw-Hill Book Company, London, New York, pp 3-20 ## How to Use Reading Material 1. Study thoroughly the study guide material. 2. Study comprehensively the compulsory readings. 3. Work out self-assessment questions. ## Self-Assessment Questions After completing the study of required readings, to assess your understanding of the topic, answer these questions. ### Question 1 Fill in the blanks: 1. The systematic study of human society is the general definition for _______. 2. The word sociology was coined in 1838 by _____. 3. August Comte termed the study of how society held itself together as _____, and how social changes as ____. 4. August Comte asserted that scientific sociology was a result of a progression throughout history of thought and understanding in three stages, the _____, _____, and _____. 5. The perspective which Mead developed is usually called ______. 6. To interpret facts correctly, what sociologists have to learn ______. 7. _______ depicted society as a system, a whole made up of interrelated parts. 8. Anomie refers to a condition in which society provides ______ to individual. ## Question 2 Describe the scope of sociology as a specialized social science. ## Question 3 Some of the important figures in the early development of sociology include Ibn-Khaldum, August Comte, Emile Durkheim, and Karl Marx. Compare and contrast the prominent feature of their work.