An Introduction to Sociology as a Scientific Discipline

Prepared by:

Miss Anila Irum

Dept. of Sociology

Faculty of Social Sciences

University of Gujrat

SOCIOLOGY AS A SCIENCE Science refers to the logical, systematic methods by which knowledge is obtained and to the actual body of knowledge produced by these methods. The sciences are usually divided into two main branches: the natural-sciences; studies the physical and biological phenomena and social sciences-sciences; studies the various aspects if human behavior.

All sciences assume that there is some underlying order in the universe. They follow a pattern that is sufficiently regular for us to be able to make generalizations --- statements that apply not just to a specific case but to most cases of the same type. Generalizations are crucial to science because they place isolated, seemingly meaningless events in pattern we can understand. It than becomes possible to analyze relationships of cause and effect and thus to explain why something happens and to predict that it will happen again under the same conditions again in the future. Sociology is able to employ the same methods of investigation that all sciences do, and use its finding to make reasonably reliable generalizations. Sociologists construct theories, collect analyze data, conduct experiments and make observations, keep careful records, and try to arrive at precise and accurate conclusions.

SCIENTIFIC STATUS OF SOCIOLOGY Sociology is relatively less advance as a discipline than most of the natural sciences. There are two reasons for that. First; the scientific method has been used to study social behavior only in recent times. Second; and more important, the study of human behavior presents many problems. Sociologists are dealing with people. People are subjects who are self-aware and capable of changing their behavior and attitude when they choose to. Unlike rocks and other non loving things, people may be deliberately uncooperative. They may behave in unforeseen ways for private reasons of their own. They may change their behavior when they know they are being studied. Their behavior usually has extremely complex causes that may be difficult to pinpoint.

The natural science can generally offer more precise explanations and predications than sociology. But the accumulated results of sociological research are already extensive, solid

and important. Sociological research methods are constantly being improved, and we can expect that they will achieve still greater precision in future. Sociology is not less scientific than biology or chemistry or astronomy. It just faces greater problems of generalization, explanation and predication. Many scholars are suspicious of Sociology not being a science. The origin of the suspicion probably lies in the fact that few people exert in molecular biology or planetary motions, but all of us can consider ourselves experts on society, because we have had years of experience in social living.

ORIGIONS OF SOCIOLOGY The sociology or social thought is as old as society itself, yet the origins of sociology as a discipline lie entangled in 19th centaury Europe. Certain developments in Europe paved the way for the emergence of sociology as we have today. The most important of these events are as follow: 1.Enlightenment 2.FrenchRevolution 3.IndustrialRevolution 4.Colonialism 5.Developments of Social Sciences

1. ENLIGHTENMENT: The intellectual heritage of enlightenment which facilitated the way of sociology is discussed as under:

a. SOCIETY: A HUMAN, NOT DIVINE, AFFAIR: Before enlightenment people believed that social structure was divinely devised. Anything from inequality to social disorder was believed to be due to Gods interference in human affairs.

The enlightenment thinkers were the first to understand that humans could alter society, eliminate poverty, crime, injustice and inequality etc. This concept greatly influenced the development of sociology in 19th centaury.

b. DIFFERENTIATING STATE AND SOCIATY: Describing the thinking and action of ordinary people became significant for understanding the general conditions of society. Such an approach made distinction between State (Political Order) and Society Cleaner. c. SCIENTIFIC APPROACH: The enlightenment also emphasized on scientific approach for understanding society. It shifted source of evil from our evil nature to the evil forces of the society. In other words it helped in studying cause & effect of the evil in the society and bring for the facts, by eliminating the past myths. Through scientific approach these evil forces in society could easily be understood, isolated and altered for the well-being of society. Thus, Enlightenment Sociology took many believes and ideas; studied them, refined them and changed them. It also began the study of Society as a phenomenon.

2. FRENCH REVOLUTION: In 1789 the French Revolution began, and when it was finally over, Europe and the World were transformed. This also brought great changes to society and was largely responsible for the development of sociology after 1814 A.D. The French revolution also formed the basis for two important traditions which became integral part of its study.

a. BIRTH OF DEMOCRATIC SOCIETY: The French Revolution brought end to feudal society, tradition, power of church, absolute monarchy and also to other exploitative elements in society. It ensured the triumph of middle class and hence proved to be a harbinger of democracy. b. INSPIRING NEW SOCIOLOGICAL TRADITIONS: After eliminating the old traditions, the French Revolution introduced two new traditions. The first is Conservative Tradition. This emphasized on concepts such as order and solidarity. The other is Liberal/Radical Tradition. This focused on problems of inequality and conflict, power and social change. Society is described as a struggle between the powerful and powerless.

Thus, the social changes and new social thought which are associated with French Revolution provided rich material to the infant study of sociology at that time. 3. INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION: The industrial revolution changed the European economy from agriculture based to more on manufacturing, trading and money based. It also provided greater social, cultural and political changes. These changes are as follow: a. CHANGE IN SOCIAL RELATIONSHIPS AND THE POWER STRUCTIRE OF SOCIETY:

After the industrial revolution, the socio-economic power shifted from feudal to industrialists of urban areas who owned large factories. The change in power structure of society and the emergence of new hectic and fast living style with increased economic needs led to change in social relationships as well. b. MASSICE URBANISATION: The industrial revolution also brought forward massive urbanization. This left far-reaching impacts on the pattern of social life. The socio-economic need manipulated. The secondary relationships replaced the primary ones. The population in cities grew. But this also narrowed down the job opportunities, competition between haves and have-nots increased to such extent that it became a game of Survival of fittest. The unemployment increased along with the inflation and poverty. These disturbances paved way for social unrest and movements in political revolutions which provided a new material for the science of sociology. The changes in social structure, social relationships and the massive urbanization also paved way for rural and urban sociology. 4. COLONIALISM: The European colonies in Asia, Africa and America brought Europeans into close contact with the societies very different from their own. This gave birth to curiosity in Europeans to study these societies. The thinkers and scholars of the time showed keen interest in the nature of the newly discovered societies, this in turn inspired the development of sociology.

5. DEVELOPMENT OF OTHER SOCIAL SCIENCES: The study of other social sciences like psychology, political science and economics greatly contributed to the birth of sociology. The development of these sciences encouraged interest in society. Within due time; the scientists, thinkers and scholars came to a notion that society and sociology needed to become a specialty area in its own right.

Theoretical Perspectives in Sociology

What is a Theoretical Perspective?

Perspectives might best be viewed as models.

Each perspective makes assumptions about society. Each one attempts to integrate various kinds of information about society. Models give meaning to what we see and experience. Each perspective focuses on different aspects of society. Certain consequences result from using a particular model.

No one perspective is best in all circumstances. The perspective one uses may depend upon the question being asked. If one is exploring bureaucratic organization, then one might like to use a perspective that is concerned with social order. On the other hand, if one is concerned with social inequality, then perhaps the conflict perspective is more useful. Perhaps the best perspective is one which combines many perspectives.

II.

The Functionalist Perspective

The origins of the functionalist perspective can be traced to the work of Herbert Spencer and Emile Durkheim.

The problem of maintaining social order is a central problem for understanding society.

Understanding society from a functionalist perspective is to visualize society as a system of interrelated parts. All the parts act together even though each part may be doing different things.

Institutions, such as family, education, and religion are the parts of the social system and they act to bring about order in society.

Integration of the various parts is important. When all the "parts" of the system work together, balance is maintained and the over all order of the system is achieved.

Social structures in society promote integration, stability, consensus, and balance.

A.

A System With Parts

The parts of society, while performing different functions, work together to maintain the stability of the whole social system. In order to understand the idea of "social system," it may be helpful to visualize a different kind of system. For example, biological organisms are systems. In fact, many sociologists use biological models to explain human society. The biological metaphor is successful in that it calls attention to how a social "organism" consists of various unique parts. Those parts, in turn, function together to support and maintain the whole system.

B.

What's the Purpose?

Functionalists, like Emile Durkheim, Vilfredo Pareto, Talcott Parsons, and Robert Merton, are interested in how the parts of the social system contribute to the continuation of the social system. When functionalists encounter the various aspects of society, they may ask "What is its purpose?" A primary purpose of all parts (institutions like police, newspapers, religion) is to encourage consensus. Merton (see Robertson, 1989:12) distinguishes between manifest functions, latent functions, and dysfunctions.

1.

Manifest Functions

Manifest functions refer to functions that are obvious. Examples: The manifest function of schools is to teach reading, writing, and arithmetic. The manifest function of the military is to defend the nation. The manifest function of criminal justice is to keep the streets safe for a society's citizens.

2.

Latent Functions

Latent functions are functions that are unrecognized. They may even be important functions, but their consequence is not obvious.

Example: College students, in the course of pursuing their education, may make good friends. Merton described college as a "mate selection market" where students meet prospective marriage partners.

3.

Dysfunctions

A perspective that is highly concerned about order is by definition concerned about what happens when social order breaks down. Merton uses the term dysfunction, which refers to a negative consequence that may disrupt the system. Dysfunction also conjures up the notion that a social phenomenon can be functional in one setting and dysfunctional in another. Examples: Over Population Pollution

C. 1.

Critique of Functionalism Functionalism Resists Change

Invoking a biological model has certain built-in assumptions connected to it. Biological organisms do not perform very well when they encounter great change in their environment. Society, however, is not biological. It is social. Social systems can tolerate much greater change than can biological systems.

2.

Functionalism is inherently Conservative

Change tends to be viewed as a negative consequence. All the parts of society act as a part of a unified system. Altering one part of the system has impact on all the other parts. There fore, there is a tendency is to protect existing institutions out of a fear that change in one area of society will adversely influence other parts of society. Fear of creating disorder in society is often used as a justification for avoiding change.

III.

The Conflict Perspective

Conflict theorists see society less as a cohesive system and more as an arena of conflict and power struggles. Instead of people working together to further the goals of the "social system,"

People are seen achieving their will at the expense of others. People compete against each other for scarce resources. Basic inequalities between various groups is a constant theme of conflict theory. Power, or the lack of it, is also a basic theme of conflict theory. Since some people benefit at the expense of others, those who benefit use ideology to justify their unequal advantage in social relationships.

Marx is a conflict theorist. He argued that the struggle between social classes was the major cause of change in society. Much change, in fact, happens as rich people and poor people compete over scarce resources. Not all conflict theorists are Marxist. Weber is also a conflict theorist. Where as Marx focused on class conflict as the "engine" of historic change, others see conflict among groups and individuals as a fact of life in any society. Conflict can occur over many other aspects of society unrelated to class. For example, conflict can occur over water rights (in West Texas and New Mexico). Conflict occurs when two people have a car accident. Conflict occurs between men and women.

A.

Conflict and Change

As a result of tension, hostility, competition, and disagreements over goals and values, change is one of the basic features in society. In general, change occurs because of inequality and the battle over scarce resources. Conflict occurs because people want things (power, wealth, and prestige) that are in short supply. One should realize that conflict is not intrinsically bad. Conflict provides grounds where people unite in order that they may act on their common interests. Conflict is the motor for desirable change.

B.

Who Benefits?

Like the functionalists, conflict theorists recognize the existence of social structures, but instead of structures existing for the good of the whole system, social structures (institutions)

serve the interests of the powerful. One should also recognize the flip side of this coin. Structures that serve the powerful also are designed to keep other groups in society in their place for the privilege of others. Instead of following the functionalist path of addressing dysfunction (i.e. something that doesn't work) conflict theorists would ask "Who Benefits?" Example: Acid rain Acid rain is not "bad" for everyone. The powerful people who control polluting industries stand to make huge profits by not providing proper air purification.

C.

Ideology

Cooperation is not assumed.

The idea of society being an integrated system based on consensus is a manufactured idea.

The powerful influence or coerce the rest of the population into compliance and conformity.

Social order is maintained, not by popular agreement, but rather by the direct or indirect exercise of power."

IV.

The Interactionist Perspective

The Interactionist perspective takes the position that it is people who exist and act. All the other "structures" found in society are nothing but human creations. For the Interactionists, society is always in a process of being created, and this occurs through communication and negotiation.

Symbolic Interactionists are called micro-sociologists. The scope of investigation for these sociologists is very small. Interactionists prefer to explore the interaction of individuals or groups of individuals.

Interaction is generally face-to-face and addresses "everyday" activities. Society occurs as a result of interaction between individuals and small groups of individuals over long periods of time.

They are interested in the way individuals act toward, respond to, and influence one another in society.

People negotiate meaning in their lives. Each communication produces new perspectives, expectations, and boundaries that individuals use to assure continual interactions in the future.

Micro-sociologists are not interested in institutions (e.g., the economy and government), social class, and nation-states.

A.

Change

Society is dynamic. Change occurs as a result of interaction between individuals. Continuous change, not stable patterns, characterizes the real nature of society. This kind of change is much less deterministic than change associated with the conflict perspective. Marxists look for change that is determined by characteristics in the social structure. Change from the Interactionist perspective is free-form.

B.

Reference Groups

Much interaction takes place in "reference groups."

Reference groups include professional organizations, friendship groups, doctors and medical people, education, and the community in which we live.

Some are more stable than others, but change is a common feature in all reference groups.

Change occurs as people communicate with one another.

C.

Symbolic Interaction

Symbolic interaction is a major sub-category of the Interactionist perspective. Robertson (1989:15) argues that "the interaction that takes place between people occurs through symbols." He calls a symbol "anything that can meaningfully represent something else."

D.

Shared Meaning

As individuals and small groups first negotiate patterns of social interaction, and then come to reply on those patterns, expectations become more fixed in social structure. Eventually, people come to accept those patterns as part of their reality. Often they cannot see beyond that reality. Choices are made within that reality. Once people that accept certain aspects in society are "real," real consequences flow from that realty. The "witches" at Salem discovered this the hard way.