Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Definition:
The term sociology was originated from the Latin word “socius” meaning companion or associate and the
Greek word “logos” meaning science or study. Sociology is the study of society. It is the youngest of the
social sciences. It studies humans, their behavior, relationships and interactions among human beings.
Sociology has been defined in a number of ways by different sociologists. In fact, there are many definitions
of sociology. Let’s have a look at some of them:
● L.F. Ward says “Sociology is the science of society or of social phenomena.”
● L.T. Hobhouse defines sociology as “The subject-matter of sociology is the interaction of human
minds”.
● The founding father of Sociology, Auguste Comte, defines sociology as the “science of social
phenomena.”
● Emile Durkheim says “Sociology is the science of social institutions.”
● Ogburn and Nimkoff says “Sociology is the scientific study of social life.”
● Robert E. Park regards sociology as “the science of collective behavior.”
● Ferdinand Tonnies says “General sociology is, on the whole, the theory of human living together.”
● Max Weber defines sociology as “the study of social actions.”
From the above definitions, we can say that sociology is a science that studies humans, their behavior, how
they interact with other human beings, the relationship among them and the very society they live in.
Nature:
Robert Bierstedt enlisted the following natures of sociology:
1. Sociology is an independent science. As an independent science it has it’s own field of study,
boundary, and methods
2. Sociology is a social science and not physical science. Sociology concentrates its attention on man,
his behavior, social activities, and social life
3. Sociology is categorical and not a normative science. It confines itself to the statement about what
is, not what should be. It does not make any kind of value judgments.
4. Sociology is pure science and not Applied Science. The aim of pure science is the acquisition of
knowledge and does not care about its usefulness. The aim of applied science is the acquisition of
knowledge as well as put them in use.
5. Sociology is relatively abstract science and not a concrete science. Sociology is more concerned
with the form of human events and their patterns.
6. Sociology is a generalizing science and not a particularizing science.
7. Sociology is a general science and not a special social science.
8. Sociology is both rational and empirical science.
Scope:
The scope of sociology falls under two schools of thought:
1. Formal School
2. Synthetic School
😎 - Zibon - 😎