Module of Social and Political Knowledge II. Week 1. Part 2. What is Sociology? The Emergence of Sociology

1.

Module of Social and Political
Knowledge II
Week 1. Part 2. What is Sociology? The Emergence of Sociology.
A X A M A L I S S A L I Y E VA , T E A C H I N G P R O F E S S O R
A _ I S S A L I Y E VA @ K A Z G U U . K Z

2.

Overview of lesson:
Emergence of Sociology
Founders of Sociology
Summing up
Required sources

3.

Sociology emerged as a field of
research during the political,
economic, and intellectual
upgrading of the 18th and 19th
centuries. Rationalism and science
replaced tradition and belief as
methods of understanding the
world, leading to changes in
government, education, economic
production, and even religion and
family life.

4.

Electricity
generator
These were the years in which
scientific research was a new
enterprise. After electricity, the
telegraph, and the X-ray, who
was to say that researchers
could not discover how to
eliminate crime, poverty, or
war?
X-Ray
Telegraph

5.

The founders of Sociology
August Comte (1798–1857) the former father of sociology. He
coined the term sociology in 1839.
He was the first who applied the scientific methods to study social
events. Once scientists figured out the laws of social behavior, he
believed, that they would be able to predict and control it.
He recognized that an understanding of society requires a concern
for both the sources of order and the sources of change (cause
and effect).

6.

Herbert Spencer (1820–1903) argued that evolution led to the development of
social, as well as natural life. He viewed society as similar to a giant organism.
Spencer's two basic principles are:
First, each society must be understood as an adaptation to its environment. This
principle of adaptation implies that to understand society, we must focus on
processes of growth and change. It also implies that there is no “right” way for a
society to be organized. Instead, societies will change as circumstances change.
Second, his concern with the scientific method. He was aware of the importance of
objectivity and moral neutrality in investigation. In essays on the bias of class, the
bias of patriotism, and the bias of theology, he warned sociologists that they must
suspend their own opinions and wishes when studying society.

7.

Karl Marx (1818–1883) viewed poverty and inequality as human-made conditions
fostered by private property and capitalism. So, he devoted his intellectual efforts to
understanding—and eliminating—capitalism.
Marx’s legacies to sociology:
ECONOMIC DETERMINISM means that economic relationships provide the
foundation on which all other social and political arrangements are built.
The most basic task of any human society is to provide food and shelter. Marx
argued on the basis of it all social and political arrangements are built. Thus, he
believed that economic relationships determine all social structures take in a given
society (family, law, religion, etc.). He suggested that the major goal of a social
scientist is to understand economic relationships: Who owns what, and how does
this pattern of ownership affect human relationships?

8.

THE DIALECTIC philosophy views change as a product of contradictions and
conflict between the parts of society. Marx argued that the basis of change of
society was conflict between opposing economic interests, not adaptation.
Marx suggested, the capitalist class was the thesis and the working class was
the antithesis. He predicted that conflicts between them would lead to a new
synthesis. That synthesis would be a communistic economic system. He
hoped to encourage conflict and start the revolution that would bring about
the desired change.
Much more controversial is Marx’s argument that the social scientist should
also be a social activist.

9.

Emile Durkheim’s (1858–1917) research focused on understanding how
societies remain stable and how stable societies foster individual happiness.
Durkheim’s legacy is a theory that highlights social stability.
One of Durkheim’s major concerns was the balance between social
regulation and personal freedom.
Durkheim was among the first to stress the importance of using reliable
statistics. He strove to be an objective observer who only sought the facts.

10.

Max Weber (1864–1920) wrote on religion, bureaucracy, method, and politics. He
believed that knowing patterns of behavior was less important than understanding
the meanings people attach to behavior (instead of accounting, it is more important
to understand how the meaning of divorce has changed over time).
He tried to show how social and religious values can affect economic systems. It's
major thesis is that the religious values of early Protestantism (self-discipline, thrift,
and individualism) were the foundation for capitalism.
He thought that sociology must be value-free. Weber argued that sociology should be
concerned with establishing what is and not what ought to be. Thus, although one
may study poverty or racial inequality because of a sense of moral outrage, such
feelings must be set aside to achieve an objective grasp of the facts.

11.

Summing up
1. Sociology is the systematic study of social behavior. Sociologists use the concepts of role
and social structure to analyze common human dramas. When we use the sociological
imagination, we focus on understanding how social structures affect individual behavior
and personal troubles.
2. The rapid social change that followed the industrial revolution was an important
inspiration for the development of sociology. Problems caused by rapid social change
stimulated the demand for accurate information about social processes. This socialproblems orientation remains an important aspect of sociology.
3. Whose point is the most relevant nowadays (A.Comte, H.Spencer, K.Marx, E.Durkheim,
M.Weber)? Explain why?

12.

Reference
1. Brinkerhoff, D. B., Weitz, R., & Ortega, S. T. (2011). Essentials of sociology (8th ed.).
Wadsworth/Cengage Learning. Chapter 1.
2. The wisdom of sociology: Sam Richards at TEDxLacador //
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gWD6g9CV_sc
3. Founding Fathers of Sociology// https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7QSsrb--HPo

13.

Thank you!
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