Sociology is the science of society and the social interactions taking place within it.

It is concerned with social interaction involving social acts, social relationships, social organizations, social structures, and social processes. We study sociology to obtain factual information about our society and different aspects of our social life. Sociological information enables us to understand our society more objectively and to see our place in it. The study of sociology also enables us to learn the application of scientific methodology. Sociology enables us to understand our society and to analyze the social factors causing problems and to investigate the connections among the components of the social world through the use of the various theoretical conceptualizations. Thus, sociology enhances broad-mindedness and tolerance of the ways of other people.

THE RELATIONSHIP OF SOCIOLOGY TO THE OTHER SOCIAL SCIENCES

The social sciences share common subject matters. Anthropology is the study of humanity and the similarities and diversity of cultures. Psychology is mainly interested in a wide range of mental, psychological, and behavioral processes. Economics is concerned with human activities related to the production, consumption, and distribution of goods within societies as well as commercial exchange. Political science is concerned with the history and theory of government. History is primarily interested in the study of past events of human beings.

THE DEVELOPMENT OF SOCIOLOGY IN EUROPE

Sociology, as a science, gradually developed in Western Europe as a response to the vast social, cultural, economic, and political changes. Auguste Comte (1798-1857) A French philosopher, believed in applying the scientific method to the study of society and social relations. He coined the term sociology, which is derived from the Latin socius which means social or being with other, and the Greek logos meaning study or science. As a result, he is credited for being the father of sociology. Comte published the book Positive Philosophy, in which he summarized the stages of development of all knowledge about humanity. He advocated the use of positivism or the empirical method for studying and understanding society.

Karl Marx (1818-1883) A German economist and philosopher, was one of the influential thinkers of the nineteenth century whose ideas persist up to the present time. Together with Friedrich Engels, a lifelong friend, he wrote the Communist Manifesto in 1847. Marx believed that history is a continuous struggle between conflicting ideas and forces, and that the most important change was economic.

Emile Durkheim (1858 1977) Was the first French academic sociologist conferred by the University of Paris a doctors degree in sociology in 1892 and, 6 years later, the first to hold a chair in sociology. He taught and become a prolific writer and critic. Among his best books are The Division of Labor in Society, The Rules of Sociological Method, Suicide, and Elementary Forms of Religious Life. He defined social phenomena as social facts that have distinctive social characteristics and determinants; social facts being, every way of acting, fixed or not, capable of exercising on the individual an external constraint, such as customs, laws, and the general rule of behavior which people accept without question.

Max Weber (1864 1920) Was a German economist. He studied law and economics at the University of Heidelberg, where he obtained his doctorate at the age of twenty-five.

THE THEORETICAL PERSPECTIVES IN SOCIOLOGY Macro- or micro- analysis are utilized to examine society. Macro-analysis looks at the broad, large picture such as social institutions and social organizations. Micro-level analysis is centered on small groups of individuals interacting with one another. Three major theoretical perspectives that have emerged in sociology are: Structural-Functional perspective Conflict perspective (which uses macro level analysis) Symbolic interaction perspective (which uses the micro level analysis)

STRUCTURAL-FUNCTIONALISM PERSPECTIVE Society can be likened to a biological structure like the human body which is composed of various organs, each with a unique function but interdependent with one another.

CONFLICT PERSPECTIVE Marxs and Webers works initiated the conflict theory. Marx maintained that history was a series of class struggles between the owners of production and the workers, the dominant and the dominated, the powerful and the powerless; and that the structure of society is determined by economic organization and ownership of property, in which personal beliefs, cultural values, religious dogmas, institutional organization, and class hierarchy are reflected. For Weber, the economic dimension is a source of inequality that eventually leads to conflict. He viewed the industrial revolution as the result of technological advancements new methods of mining, textile weaving, traveling and communication.

SYMBOLIC INTERACTION PERSPECTIVE The structural-functional and conflict theories deal with larger units of society, the macro-sociological such as organizations, institutions, social stratification, communities, and nations. George Herbert Mead, W.I. Thomas, Herbert Blumer, and Charles Horton Cooley of the Chicago School dealt more on the micro-sociological orientation, the symbolic interaction theory involving individuals in society, their definitions or perceptions of situations, meanings, roles, and interaction patterns.