The Origins of Sociology

Sociology: Chapter 1, Section 2

European Origins• Sociology is a relatively new science• It began in the late 1800’s in Europe, as there was a great

deal of social upheaval at the time• The French Revolution was ending the old ways of the

aristocracy (rich people), while the Industrial Revolution was getting people off the farms and into cities where they could work in factories

• As intellectuals saw these developments, they began to theorize what forces were at work with all this social upheaval.

• The major European thinkers were Auguste Comte, Harriet Martineau, Herbert Spencer, Karl Marx, Emile Durkheim, and Max Weber

How did the French Revolution and the Industrial Revolution change

society?

Auguste Comte• Auguste Comte (1798-1857, French) is

considered the father of sociology• Although he was recognized as very intelligent as

a child, he often got in trouble for protesting against school procedures

• As an adult, Comte wanted to improve society. He believed that society should be studied scientifically to best figure out what to do. He called this new science sociology

Auguste Comte, the Father of Sociology

Auguste Comte

• Comte believed that any knowledge should be obtained by scientific observation

• He called this idea positivism, in that we can only be positive about knowledge obtained in this scientific manner

• Comte also distinguished between social statics, the study of social stability and order, and social dynamics, the study of social change

Harriet Martineau• Harriet Martineau (1802-1876, English) was a sickly

child who lost her senses of taste, smell, and hearing before she was an adult

• She became a popular writer, even outselling Charles Dickens for a while

• She translated Comte’s most famous book into English

• She wrote Society in America, which discussed a link between slavery of African-Americans and the oppression of women. Her writings inspired future feminist theorists

Harriet Martineau, one of the first feminist theorists

Herbert Spencer• Herbert Spencer (1820-1903, English) compared society

to the human body, as economies, religions, families and governments all contributed to the health of society, just as eyes, lungs and fingers all help a body work

• Spencer also introduced an idea he called Social Darwinism, naming it after Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution

• He felt that in order for society to be the strongest, that the rich should be allowed to be successful, and the poor should die out, as they weaken society

• Despite the name, it is unknown if Charles Darwin would have believed in “Social Darwinism”

Herbert Spencer (not Charles Darwin) Introduced “Social Darwinism”

Karl Marx

• Karl Marx (1818-1883, German) did not consider himself to be a sociologist, but his ideas had a huge influence on sociology

• He felt that social scientists should try to change the world, not just study it

• He was greatly concerned about the poor, and how he saw the rich taking advantage of them

Karl Marx is the inventor of Communism, yet wrote more often about Capitalism

Karl Marx• Marx predicted that eventually, all industrial

societies would fall into two social classes, which he termed the bourgeoisie and the proletariat

• The bourgeoisie are those who own capital, or the businesses, factories, and equipment that create jobs. Therefore, the bourgeoisie are also called capitalists.

• The proletariat work for the bourgeoisie and are paid as little as possible, just enough to keep them able to work

Karl Marx• Marx felt that class conflict was inevitable

between these two classes• Just like how slaves overthrew slave owners, the

wage workers would overthrow the capitalists• Out of this conflict would come a society without

any classes, which he called communism• He felt that communistic revolutions should be

encouraged, although he felt that capitalism would eventually fall on its own anyway

Emile Durkheim• Emile Durkheim (1858-1917, French) said that society exists

because of a broad consensus, or agreement, among members of a society

• In preindustrial times, societies were based on mechanical solidarity, where everyone in the society believed in the same traditions and in family

• Industrial societies are based on organic solidarity, where members of the society depend on each other for their specialized roles. The bankers need customers and the customers need the bankers

• Durkheim was also the first sociologist to use statistical methods, rather than speculation, to formulate his hypotheses

Emile Durkheim, one of the founders of sociology, taught that the whole may be greater than the sum of

its parts

Max Weber• Max Weber (1864-1920, German) came up with many

of the most important theories about sociology• He described what he termed as verstehen (German

for understanding), the ability to put yourself in someone else’s shoes and shed your values and thus see things from a different point of view

• He also identified rationalization, which helped transform societies from preindustrial to industrial– as people went from tradition, emotion, and superstition to using knowledge, reason and planning. This led to more rational, scientific sociological study.

Max Weber wrote of “the Protestant Ethic,” which combined hard work and moral values into material success

Sociology in America

• Although the origins of sociology happened in Europe, the greatest development of sociology occurred in the United States

• The University of Chicago, Harvard, Columbia, Wisconsin, Stanford, and Berkeley became major universities in the development of sociology, thus entrenching the United States at the center of development for the science

Jane Addams

• Jane Addams (1860-1935, American) is one of the most famous early reformers for social justice, particularly regarding women

• She was an especially strong voice for reform regarding abuses of workers in factories

• She also spoke for women’s suffrage (the right to vote) and peace movements

• She was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1931

Jane Addams, one of the most prominent reformers of the Progressive Era

W.E.B. Du Bois• W.E.B. Du Bois (1868-1963, American) used science

and sociology to disprove racist assumptions about African Americans

• Du Bois was a victim of racial discrimination as a university student, and witnessed the effects of discrimination when he taught at an all-black school

• As a sociologist, he analyzed the sophisticated social structure in African American communities in Philadelphia

• He later documented the experiences of African people throughout the world, not just in America, and died while living in Ghana, in West Africa

W.E.B. Du Bois, the first African American to earn a doctorate from Harvard, co-founded the NAACP in 1909

Assessment

• Complete #1-2 on page 21• Complete #1-4 on page 22