Студопедия

Главная страница Случайная страница

Разделы сайта

АвтомобилиАстрономияБиологияГеографияДом и садДругие языкиДругоеИнформатикаИсторияКультураЛитератураЛогикаМатематикаМедицинаМеталлургияМеханикаОбразованиеОхрана трудаПедагогикаПолитикаПравоПсихологияРелигияРиторикаСоциологияСпортСтроительствоТехнологияТуризмФизикаФилософияФинансыХимияЧерчениеЭкологияЭкономикаЭлектроника






Sociology and Social Science






Sociology is the scientific study of the structure and development of society. It is a very broad science dedicated to understanding how people interact with each other and their environments. Sociologists are interested in how individuals and groups can affect society as well as how society affects them. This science studies any factor that can impact society.

Sociology unofficially began with ancient civilizations raising questions about the society in which they lived. Not much came of this due to the lack of technology and development at the time. The scientific approach to sociology came about in the mid-1800s. Like many philosophies, sociology emerged from a state of social turbulence. It began when the Industrial Revolution was well under way and unprecedented changes were occurring in society. People worked ridiculously long hours under awful conditions for minimal wages. These major changes caused many people to rethink the concept of society and its meaning... and then, there was sociology.

Over the years there have been many people who have influenced sociology. Here are some of the early influences and their contributions: Auguste Comte is considered by many to be the father of sociology. Although he never conducted any formal research, it was he who came up with the idea to study society using the scientific method. This approach is known as positivism. It was Comte who named the social science " sociology" and he intended to not only study society, but to use his findings to help improve it. The concept of applying sociological principles to society itself for the purposes of improvement or advancement later became known as applied sociology.

The second founder Herbert Spencer did not agree with Comte's intention to use sociological principles to bring about social reform. He was a believer in social Darwinism (modeled after Charles Darwin's theory of natural selection). Spencer believed that society would evolve and ultimately improve on its own. He felt that the most intelligent members of society would reproduce and continue the species while the less capable people would die out; over time, society would improve through evolution. Spencer felt that any interference in this natural evolution process would upset the balance and aid those who were less adapted to survive. The concept of studying sociology with no intentions of applying it is known as pure sociology.

Karl Marx created the theory of class conflict. He felt that the root of all problems in society was the difference in economic classes. He claimed that an economic revolution was inevitable and would begin with the exploited working class (the proletariat) fight against the upper class (the bourgeoisie). According to Marx, the result of this revolution would be a classless society characterized by government control of property and even distribution of finances.

Contemporary sociology reflects the diverse contributions of earlier theorists and gains new insights which help to better understand the workings of modern human society.

Sociology is the scientific study of society. It is a social science (a term with which it is sometimes synonymous) which uses various methods of empirical investigation and critical analysis to develop a body of knowledge about human social activity. For many sociologists the goal is to conduct research which may be applied directly to social policy and welfare, while others focus primarily on refining the theoretical understanding of social processes.

Subject matter ranges from the micro level of individual agency and interaction to the macro level of systems and the social structure. Social structure is a term used in the social sciences to refer to social arrangements which form the society as a whole and which determine the actions of the individuals socialized into that structure. The meaning of " social structure" differs between various fields of sociology. On the macro scale, it can refer to the system of socioeconomic stratification, social institutions, or other relation between large social groups. The concept of ‘ social stratification ’ refers to the idea that society is separated into different strata (levels). Macrosociology deals with large-scale phenomena or entire civilization while microsociology investigates small-scale phenomena and stresses study of small groups and often uses experimental studies. The traditional focuses of sociology have included social stratification, social class, culture, social mobility, religion and law. As all spheres of human activity are affected by the interplay between social structure and individual agency, sociology has gradually expanded its focus to further subjects, such as health, medical, military and penal institutions, the Internet, and the role of social activity in the development of scientific knowledge.

 






© 2023 :: MyLektsii.ru :: Мои Лекции
Все материалы представленные на сайте исключительно с целью ознакомления читателями и не преследуют коммерческих целей или нарушение авторских прав.
Копирование текстов разрешено только с указанием индексируемой ссылки на источник.