Sociology as a discipline & the

founding fathers of sociology

A brief presentation
What do we mean by sociology first ?
The Feild of social anthropology has been
historically quite close to sociology
•  why do people consider sociology to be a * science * ?
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•  How did early sociologists help to define the science of sociology ?
August Comte
He is a French social thinker and he’s
considered to be the quote father of sociology
•  Positivism : a way of understanding society based on science
•  «  we need to make sure that the knowledge we have is knowledge
that we know for sure « 
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Herbert Spencer
 He is an English sociologist
•  society is like the human body-parts make up the whole . Just as
heart and eyes help body function , social institutions ( religion,
education, ect..) help society function
•  Social Darwinism :
• * survival of the fittest , the strongest members of a society
should not help the weaker members
• *Rich deserve to be rich , poor deserve to be poor creates a
stronger society
Karl Marx
 He is a German economist and sociologist
•  Society is constantly in a state of struggle ( wars , fights , rivalries,
….)
•  Classes conflict : there were two social classes The Proletariat and
The Bourgeoisie
•  The proletariat would eventually rise up and overthrow the
bourgeoisie
•  False consciousness : false explanations of social problems as the
short comings of individuals rather than as the flaws of society ( the
system creates problems , not individuals themselves )
Emile Durkheim
He is a French sociologist
•  Credited with sociology’s creation as an academic discipline
•  society exists beyond ourselves - * To love society is to love
something beyond us and something in ourselves *
•  Durkheim was the first to use scientific method to create
sociological experiments and we start to see Data being collected to
create social realities
•  Social Integration : the degree to which an individual is connected
to society
•  Individuals desires must be balanced by the guidance of society
Max Weber
He is a German scholar and sociologist
•  Interpretive sociology : a study of society that focuses on the
meanings people attach to their social world
•  The Reality is constructed by people themselves
•  Weber use qualitative Data to create social realities
•  Verstehen : understand why people do things rather than simple
observe what they do-EMPATHY !
• Thank you for your attention 🙋