LESSON 2 : SOC SCI PERSPECTIVE

ANTHROPOLOGICAL

 Communities are the driving force for civilizations.

 Human evolution came from the mold of these shifts and has drastically accelerated
human development.
 To know how biological forms survive, we use Darwin's theory to map out how humans
survived with the help of their characteristics and how the creation of our own social
mechanisms secured our place at the top of evolutionary chain.
 Paleolithic Age (Old Stone) - Human development was marked by development of their
tools.
o Oldowan stone tool industry is the earliest known period where men attained
craftsmanship.
o Archeulean tradition - Improving tools with more robust construction and
symmetrical.
o Foraging - Earliest form of social stratification where roles were given to certain
members of the group. It emphasizes the need for the humans to form
relationships to improve chances of survival.
 Mesolithic Age - Horticultural and agricultural. A Period which early humans began to
control fire and develop languages. It is also called Middle Stone Age.

SOCIOLOGICAL

 Sociology - Analyzes history, evolution, structure, and functions of societies. It focuses

on subject across agencies from individual to institutions or groups.

Social Stratification

 It is the system of ranking people into groups according to criteria (race, color, wealth).
 The hierarchical arrangements of individuals into divisions of power and wealth within a
society.
 The hierarchy is a rank order of groups and is linked to perceptions of ethnicity, color,
class, and gender.
o A trait of society, not just a reflection of individual differences.
o Carries over from generation to generation.
o Universal but variable.
o Involves inequalities and beliefs.
 Strata - rock layers. It relates to the socio-economic concept of class. A relational set of
inequalities with economic, social, political, and ideological dimensions.
 Social Structure - Institutionalized inequality; differentiation of status and social roles
into ranked orders.
 Social Process - Splitting into social categories. Develops into social groups;
cooperating, competing, conflicting for status quo or change.
  Social Problem - Involves bitter feelings of discontent and strong demands for equality
or social justice.

Dimensions

 Wealth & Income - It consists of the value of everything a person owns (W). It is the
amount of money one person receives and how they get it (I).
 Inequalities of Power - It is the ability to control one's life or influence the action of
others.
 Inequalities of Prestige - Recognition that a person receives from others. Esteem,
respect, or approval, granted by an individual. Societies differ in attributes they attach
prestige to: religion, holiness, zeal, occupational ranking, consumption patterns, leisure
activities, membership in organizations.

Comparison of Theories

 Functionalist
o It is universal, necessary, and inevitable.
o Social system shapes the stratification system.
o It arises from societal need for integration, coordination and cohesion.
o It facilitates the optimal functioning of society and individual.
o It is an expression of commonly shared social values.
o Power's usually legitimately distributed in society.
o Tasks and rewards are equitably allocated.
o The economic dimensions is subordinate to other dimensions of society.
o It changes through evolutionary processes. ****
 Conflict
o It may be universal without being necessary and inevitable.
o Stratification system shapes social system.
o It arises from group conquest, competition, and conflict.
o It impeded the optimal functioning of society and individual.
o An expression of the values of powerful groups.
o Power's illegitimately distributed in society.
o Tasks & rewards are inequitably allocated.
o It is paramount in society.
o It changes through revolutionary process.

Types of Social Stratification

 Open System - Class system; positions are awarded based on merit and achievements.
Status is achieved depending on accomplishments and efforts. It provides equal chance to
succeed.
o Category of people who share similar opportunities, economic and vocational
positions, lifestyles, and attitudes and behaviour.
 o Boundaries are maintained by limitations on social interaction, marriage and
mobility.
 Closed System - Caste system; status is determined at birth and locked into their parent's
social position. Characteristics determine the position and opportunities. The caste lines
are defined, and legal and religious sanctions are applied.
o Rigid system. They are born into and spend their lives within a caste with little
chance of leaving it.
o The contact is minimal and is governed by a set of rules or laws.
o Access to valued resources is unequal.
 Estate System - The position is based on ownership of land, birth or military strength.
Segment of a society that has legally established rights and duties.
 Social Class - Classifying people (wealth, relative social value). Determined based on
specified set of observable and quantifiable characteristics relative to a set benchmark.
 Deviance - Against a pre-set rule or agreed-upon norm. Rooted on interaction of society
with a certain social anomaly; act or norm defying stunt.
 Religion - Classifies by religious beliefs and practices. One of the primary influences that
contribute to individual identity and social norms; to be studied.
 Social Mobility - Movement that changes the status in society. The degree depends on
rules governing how people gain or keep their positions and structural changes in society.
o Power - Ability to attain goals, control events, and influence; people
empowerment is movement aimed at liberating the poor people from poverty.
o Prestige - Approval and respect received from members of society; esteem
consists of appreciation and respect received with daily interpersonal
relationships; honor is associated with specific statuses in society.
o Wealth - Total economic assets of individual or family; poverty is condition
which people don't have enough money for necessities.
o Factors : Hard work, social structure, societal values and norms, level of
education, marriage, luck.

POLITICAL

 Who gets what, when, and how - Lasswell

 Political science - as the field of study, intersects other branches of knowledge and
inquiry; multidisciplinary.
 The study of politics cuts across all these dimensions in an attempt to explain political
action and behavior and the distribution of power and authority in the real world.
 Political science views communities as composed of citizens guided under one
constitution or government.
 Individuals are considered constituents whose identification can be summed up by their
citizenship proven by a contract such as a passport or birth certificate.
 Nation - is composed of individuals that share a common background (language, history
or religion)
 Estate - a political entity that has the four characteristics: population, territory,
sovereignty and government.
 Nation-state - is when both nation and state come together to form a unified body that
has all four aforementioned characteristics bound by a common identification of culture,
language, and history.
 Population - the people sharing a geographical space : towns, cities, countries.
 Territory - physical area under the rule or jurisdiction under a political system or ruler.
 Sovereignty - authority of a state for self-governance and rule.
 Government - a group of individuals that administers the functions of the state.
 A nation meets these four characteristics; this is why national interest prioritizing the
protection of its population, territories, sovereignty and its government, and the
continuation of their cultural identity to ensure their survival and relevance.
 The government, as a representative of its people, has the power, legitimacy, and
authority to represent the nation through its which is directed toward other nation-states.

foreign policy

 Foreign policy - is the intersection of national interest and local governance. It is

considered to be a derivation of local politics.