sociology unit1.pdf

8/14/2019 sociology unit1.pdf

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Defining the Sociology

Need of sociology

The Development of Sociology


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The term sociology was coined by Auguste Comte , a French philosopher

,in 1839.

Sociology is derived from the Latin word Societus meaning society

and the Greek word logos meaning study or science

The meaning of sociology is thus the the science of society


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1.The study of human social behaviour, especially the study of

the origins, organization, institutions, and development ofhuman society.

2.Analysis of a social institution or societal segment as a self-

contained entity or in relation to society as a whole.


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Sociology has been defined in a number of ways by different

sociologists. No single definition has yet been accepted as completely

satisfactory. For our purpose of study a few definitions may be cited

here.

Auguste Comete, the founding father of sociology, defines

sociology as the science of social phenomena subject to natural andinvariable laws, the discovery of which is the object of investigation".

ngs ey av s says t at oc o ogy s a genera sc ence osociety".

Harry M. Johnson opines that "sociology is the science that

deals with social groups".

Emile Durkheim: "Science of social institutions".


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Park regards sociology as "the science of collective behaviour.

Marshal Jones defines sociology as "the study of man-in-

relationship-to-men".

Alex Inkelessays, "Sociology is the study of systems of social

action and of their inter-relations".

Kimball Young and Raymond W. Macksay, "Sociology is thescientific study of social aspects of human life".


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A careful examination of various definitions cited above, makes itevident that sociologists differ in their opinion about definition of

sociology.

However, the common idea underlying all the definitions mentioned

above is that sociology is concerned with man, his social relations and

his society.


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TheThe studystudy ofof peoplepeople inin groupsgroups

GroupsGroups inin thethe processprocess ofof selfself--formationformation

rougroug ee ac onsac ons oo n v ua sn v ua s

ThroughThrough thethe actionsactions andand forcesforces ofof thethe groupsgroups

themselvesthemselves


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Sociology is the scientific study of human society and

social interactions.

What makes sociology scientific?


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Science is ...a body ofsystematically arranged

knowledge that shows the Gather Data

Analyze Data

operation of general laws.

As a science, sociology

employs the scientific method Formulate hypotheses

Choose research design

Review of literature


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Sociology is the scientific study of social behaviour of

humans.

Sociology studies the social, economic, political, and religiousactivities of people.

Sociolo has its im ortance in anal sin the various as ects

of communities and families, and their behaviour in socialchange and mobility, bureaucracy, addictions, crime and law,

and all that influences people behaviour.

They can analyse stuff and it makes it better to know aboutthis information because it can get you somewhere .


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Sociology is the study of the social part of us, the pattern ofinteraction with other people which is necessary to our very

existence.

Sociology has been described as 'the scientific study of human

group behaviour and 'the application of scientific methods of

inquiry to the puzzles of social life.

We all participate in any number of social groups, many of which

overlap. Sociologists study how and why these groups interactwith each other and how the interactions affect their members.

Such analyses not only yield a clearer understanding of society and

its components, but also allow sociologists to see both the causes

and the possible remedies for our social problems.


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Here are two main schools of thought regarding the scope of

Sociology:(1) The Specialist or Formalistic school and

(2) the Synthetic school.

ere s a goo ea o con roversy a ou e scope o oc o ogy

between the two schools.

The supporter of first school believe that Sociology is a specific

science and the scope should be limited whereas others believe that it is ageneral science and its scope is very vast.


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The Sociological Perspective

Social organization

It is the study of the various institutions, social groups,social stratification, social mobility, bureaucracy, ethnic groups andrelations, and other similar subjects like family, education, politics,

religion, economy, and so on and so forth.

Areas of sociology

Social psychologyIt is the study of human nature as an outcome of group life,

social attitudes, collective behaviour, and personality formation. Itdeals with group life and the individual's traits, attitudes, beliefs as

influenced by group life, and it views man with reference to grouplife.


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Social change and disorganization

It is the study of the change in culture and social relationsand the disruption that may occur in society, and it deals with thestudy of such current problems in society such as juveniledelinquency, criminality, drug addiction, family conflicts, divorce,

population problems, and other similar subjects.

Human ecology

It deals with the nature and behaviour of a given populationand its relationships to the group's present social institutions. Forinstance, studies of this kind have shown the prevalence of mental

illness, criminality, delinquencies, prostitution, and drug addiction

in urban centers and other highly developed places.


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Population or demography

It is the study of population number, composition, change,and quality as they influence the economic, political, and socialsystem.

Sociological theory and methodIt is concerned with the applicability and usefulness of the

principles and theories of group life as bases for the regulation of

' ,

bases for the prediction and control of man's social environment.

Applied sociology

It utilizes the findings of pure sociological research invarious fields such as criminology, social work, communitydevelopment, education, industrial relations, marriage, ethnic

relations, family counselling, and other aspects and problems of

daily life.


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Nature of sociology

Sociology can be described as all of the following:The study of society.Academic disciplinebody of knowledge given to - or received by - a disciple

(student); a branch or sphere of knowledge, or field of study,that an individual has chosen to specialise in.Field of science

widely-recognized category of specialized expertise withinscience, and typically embodies its own terminology andnomenclature. Such a field will usually be represented by oneor more scientific journals, where peer reviewed research is

published. There are many sociology-related scientificjournals.Social sciencefield of academic scholarship that explores aspects of human

society.

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sociology unit1.pdf