SOCIETY

SOCIETY
- is composed of interacting individuals and interacting groups sharing a common culture
(Perucci and Knudsen, 1983; p.9)
- Composed of interacting individuals occupying a definite territory, having a common
culture and goal.

SOCIOLOGY
- Scientific study of human society (Hun, 1994).
- Scientific study of patterns of human interaction that deals with the study of group life
(Joseph Fichter)
“A person who does not honor the country into
ETYMOLOGY which his ancestors are buried will be cursed
Latin – socius – companion/partner for eternity.”
Greek – logos – study of (group behavior) - Paulo Coelho, Like the Flowing
River

ELEMENTS OF SOCIOLOGY
 Family
 School Social Institutions – Social Structure
 Government - Building blocks of society
 Church
 Economy

THREE MAJOR PERSPECTIVES IN SOCIOLOGY

1. Structural-functionalism
- Structure— parts, elements of society (Social Institutions)
- Function— use/ purpose
 Family – procreation (through marriage => norm)
 Government – peace and order (laws & policies)
 School – productive members of society
 Church – spiritual development
 Economy – goods and services

2. Conflict
- Society is divided into different groups that are in constant state of competing
with one another.
- Power struggle (e.g. inequality, oppression)
- Conflicting groups = social change
- Ex. Why inequality and oppression exist in the society
- Karl Marx

- Reference: Palispis, Epitacio. (2008).Introduction to Sociology and Anthropology.

 3. Symbolic-interactionism
- Using of symbols on everyday interaction
- Attaching meanings to symbols
 Language
 Gestures
 Facial expressions
 Objects

DEVELOPMENT OF SOCIOLOGY

The conscious adoptions of the scientific approach began in the early part of the 18th
century and the first quarter of the 19th century when social philosophers began to be interested
in the natural development of sciences that would eventually lead to the development of society.

HENRI SAINT-SIMON (1760-1825)

- Wrote his ideas on the science of society which he discussed with Isadore Auguste Marie
Francois Comte, his student and secretary.

AUGUSTE COMTE
- A French philosopher who coined the term sociology in 1838.
- Father of Sociology
- He believed that the methods and techniques of the natural sciences could also be applied
to the study of society.
- He advocated the idea of positivism or the use of empirical investigations (scientific
method) to understand phenomena.
- Devoted self to the development of the society
- Sociology as the “queen of social sciences”.
- Against armchair theorists
- Father of Sociology

TWO DIVISIONS OF SOCIOLOGY ACCORDING TO COMTE:

1. Social Statics
- the study of the structure of society
- composition of the elements of society
2. Social Dynamics
- Concentrated itself with social evolution and change.

EMILE DURKHEIM
- Born in France (1858)
- Finished his schooling in philosophy in 1882.
- He believed sociology could help change society for the better

Durkheim was particularly interested in what holds society together.

- Why is society relatively unchaotic?
- How is this related to social change?

- Reference: Palispis, Epitacio. (2008).Introduction to Sociology and Anthropology.

THEORY OF SOLIDARITY
- A society won’t be a society without solidarity.

TYPES OF SOLIDARITY/SOCIETY

1. Mechanical Solidarity
- Homogeneity
- Usually found in a primitive, traditional and simple society
- A society with little differentiation: individuals are all fairly similar to one
another, with similar responsibilities, tasks, and behaviors.
- In such societies all individuals are part of, or integrated into, the same group,
and they share common views of what is right and wrong, important and
unimportant.
- Individuals share a special bond with each other
- Collective Consciousness – common beliefs, values, and norms the

2. Organic Solidarity
- Rises within an industrialized society
- A society with much differentiation, with people performing diverse types of
work and exhibiting various behaviors.
- Individuals may also belong to any number of different groups, from families
and work organizations to religious groups, political parties, and networks of
friends.
- A new form of social cohesion that is based on interdependence (independent
of one another)

 Durkheim believed that people are exclusively the product of their social environment, the
society shapes people in every possible way.

SUICIDE
- Sui generis reality (social existence)
- driven by social factors
 the society shapes the individual in every possible way
- influenced behavior based on external factors
- Earlier belief = Individual is suffered from psychological illness

TYPES OF SUICIDE

1. Anomic
- People who have no longer consistent, clear-cut norms to direct them, no constant
collective consciousness to guide them and they would be more likely to commit
suicide.
- Ex. During economic depression

- Reference: Palispis, Epitacio. (2008).Introduction to Sociology and Anthropology.

 2. Altruistic
- A person is willing to die for a great cause.
- To die for the benefit of others or for the society, community or group
- Ex. Japanese Kamikazes, suicide bombers

3. Egoistic
- It is due to a defect in social organization, the person would search for an escape
from a group.
- Ex. Victim of bullying/abuse

KARL HEINRICH MARX

- Born in Germany in 1818.
- Marx became attached to the “Young Hegelians”.
- Father of Communism.
- Pursued his interest in radical social and economic analysis and worked for a while as a
newspaper writer and editor in Germany.
- Marx dreamt for an ideal society which is a classless society
- Marx was greatly concerned with the conditions that the workers of his day faced.
- He questioned why oppression and inequality existed and how this situation might
change?

 Marx suggested that in any society those who control the means of production are the
dominant group.

19th Century Europe (Industrial Revolution)

- A period of turmoil.
- The introduction of machinery and technology
- Effect: (New social classes of businessmen and capitalist emerged)
a. People worked for wages
b. Family bonds disintegrated

Social change may occur due to conflict between the two opposing classes.

1. Bourgeoisie
- The capitalists who owned the factories and mills (oppressor).
2. Proletariat
- The workers (the oppressed).

» Social Revolution – If the proletariat becomes enlightened, they can be the new oppressors
and overthrow the bourgeoisie

Alienation – using the lower population for work and their purpose for thousands are lost and
only work for their oppressors

Capitalism – abuse of the proletariats

- Reference: Palispis, Epitacio. (2008).Introduction to Sociology and Anthropology.

Conditions of the workers:
 Child labor
 Low wages
 Hazardous work conditions
 Long work hours
 No benefits
Society = Utopia = Classless community = Communism

MAX WEBER
- Born in Germany (1864).
- Had an excellent education in his early years and was extremely well read.
- He was trained as an economic historian.

 Weber gave central importance in his analyses to social action, the meanings that people
attribute to their actions, and the way these actions and meanings affect the social order.

THEORY OF AUTHORITY

1. Charismatic Authority
- It exists when the control of others is based on an individual’s personal
characteristics.

2. Traditional Authority
- The legitimacy of the leader is rooted in customs. The authority is vested on the
individual who inherits the position.

3. Rational – Legal Authority

- The exercise of authority is subject to a system of generalized rules. A position is
based on formal system of rules.

HERBERT SPENCER
- Born on 1820
- Experienced mental health issues that limited the amount of work he can do
- Known for evolutionary thinking

USE OF SOCIETY
A. Social Darwinism
- Survival of the fittest
- Animals best adapted survive and prosper, those adapt poorly die out
- Theory used in science applied in sociology

B. Society as a “Social Organism”

- Society is analogous to a living organism
- Basic view front of the society

- Reference: Palispis, Epitacio. (2008).Introduction to Sociology and Anthropology.

CHARACTERISTICS OF SOCIETY

1. Society undergoes growth from simple to complex

2. Society is composed of different parts (institutions) which served specialized functions
3. All parts of the society is interrelated
4. A certain part cannot function without the others

Use of government
- To create a secure system that for its economic activities

Function of war
A. Unity
- Everyone unites against their common enemy
B. Solidarity
- Warfare brings solidarity in a group

BRANCHES OF SOCIOLOGY

1. Social Psychology
- It deals with the study of human nature as an outcome of group life, social
attitudes, collective behavior, and personality formation.
- Personality Group life

2. Social Organization
- It deals with the study of various social institutions, social groups, social
stratification, social mobility, bureaucracy, and other similar topics.

Social Stratification
- Division of people according to attributes such as wealth, power, and prestige.
- Social classes

Bureaucracy— introduced by Max Weber; to coordinate the functions of the government in a

formal and organized way.

3. Social Change/Social Disorganization

- It deals with the study of the change in culture and social relations and the
disruption that may occur in society. It includes the study of current social
problems in society.

4. Human Ecology
- It studies the nature and behavior of a given population and its relationships to
the group’s present social institutions.

- Reference: Palispis, Epitacio. (2008).Introduction to Sociology and Anthropology.

 5. Population Or Demography
- It is concerned with the study of population number, composition, change, and
quality as they influence the economic, political, and social system.

6. Sociological Theory And Method

- It includes theory building and testing the applicability of the principles of group
life as the basis of prediction and control of man’s social environment.

7. Applied Sociology
- It utilizes the findings of pure sociological research in various fields such as
criminology, social work, community development, etc., and other aspects and
problems of daily life.

SOCIAL INVESTIGATIONS REQUIRE:

1. Empirical Observation
- Knowledge must be obtained through direct observation and experience using the
senses.
*Scientific observation

2. Objectivity
- Ability to give account on things as they are not as what you want them to appear.
*Non-biased

3. Critical Spirit
- Makes skillful judgment; “critical thinking”
- Details are being analyzed and supported by reason/evidence.
*Analyzing various phenomena in society.

4. Sociological Imagination (C. Wright Mills)

- Is the set of mind that enables the individual to examine his own experiences by
locating himself in the period in which he lives and studying the events in his
personal life against events in society.
*Understanding events in society through personal experiences.

METHODS OF INQUIRY
1. Inductive
2. Deductive

- Reference: Palispis, Epitacio. (2008).Introduction to Sociology and Anthropology.

GROUP
THE CONCEPT OF GROUP

1. A group is composed of two or more persons interacting with each other, guided by a set
of norms.
- Social interaction or interpersonal behavior of group members are the most
important criteria in the concept of group.

2. A group is a specified number of individuals where each recognizes members as distinct

from non-members; each has a sense of what others do and think, as well as the purpose
of the association or grouping.

 To sociologists, what makes a group is not just the similarity of traits of individuals or the
physical proximity of individuals, but rather the fact that people interact.

Social group is different from social aggregates

, which are made up of people who happen to be in the same place but share little else (they do
not interact with one another, not they consider their temporary association to have any meaning)

CHARACTERISTICS OF GROUPS:

To be considered as a social group, one must have:

1. Means for identifying the members
- Having objects that identify which institution one is from (e.g. identification cards)

2. Permanence beyond meetings and members even when members are dispersed
- Members are expected to mirror their group’s values

3. Mechanism for recruiting members

- A formal process to be initiated into a group
- e.g. Try-outs for sports clubs, Marriage for families, Admission for schools

4. Goals and purposes

- It is important for every group to have their own goals and purposes

5. Social status/roles
- Every member has certain roles in a group (e.g. president, treasurer)

6. Means of controlling the members’ behavior

- Rules and regulations are imposed in the group

- Reference: Palispis, Epitacio. (2008).Introduction to Sociology and Anthropology.

BASIC CLASSIFICATION OF SOCIAL GROUPS

1. Primary Group
- Charles Horton Cooley defined primary group as a group that is characterized by
“intimate face-to-face relationships and close interaction, and cooperation”.

- Relationships are spontaneous, personal, and intimate. They involve interaction among
members who have emotional investment in one another and in a situation, who know
one another intimately.

2. Secondary group
- It is type of group in which relationships are impersonal and widely separated. They
are characterized by much less intimacy among members. They usually have specific
goals and are formally organized and impersonal.

- Tend to be larger than primary groups and their members do not necessarily interact
with all other members.

PRIMARY GROUP SECONDARY GROUP

PHYSICAL CONDITIONS
SOCIAL
CHARACTERISTICS
Small in number Large in number
Long duration Short duration
Inclusive knowledge of other Specialized and limited
persons knowledge of other persons
Feeling of freedom and
Feeling of external constraints
spontaneity
Formal cooperation
Informal cooperation (deliberate and contractual
(involves mutual give and take nature prescribing the specific
attitude) reciprocal rights and
obligations of the members)

Formal group
- defined by the organization’s structure, with designated work assignments

A. Command group – Employees reporting directly to a supervisor

B. Task group – Employees working together to complete a particular task of
project

Informal group
- Alliances that are neither structures nor organizationally determined.
- Forms naturally as response to the need of social contract.
- Social ties develop around individuals, not necessarily about positions.

- Reference: Palispis, Epitacio. (2008).Introduction to Sociology and Anthropology.

GEMEINSCHAFT AND GESELLSCHAFT
- German words literally translated as ‘community’ and society,’ respectively.
- Used by Ferdinand Tönnies to describe the relationship of people in either a
gemeinschaft community or gesellschaft society.

Gemeinschaft
- Have high degree of conformity
- People regard one another; their relationships are close and personal
- Rural communities; Barrios

Gesellschaft
- Relationships that may appear in complex urban societies
- Individualism prevails (little argument on norms; much deviance)
- Impersonal and segmented; fleeting society of bargaining and contracts
- Urban communities; Cities

GEMEINSCHAFT GESELLSCHAFT
Personal Impersonal
Community Traditions Individualism
Public Property Private Property
Mutual Cooperation Deliberate/Contractual
Familiarity Anonymity

CULTURE
- “… that complex whole which includes knowledge, beliefs, laws, morals, arts, customs
and any other capabilities and habits acquired by man as a member of society” (E.B.
Taylor)
- Society & Culture are interrelated.

ETYMOLOGY
Greek – cultus – “care”
– cultura – “civilization”

*Culture provides the needed care and attention as one grows to a mature and grown individual.

1. MATERIAL CULTURE
- Includes physical objects or artifacts – things that human beings create by altering the
natural environment.
- It refers to the concrete and tangible things that man creates and uses.

2. NON-MATERIAL CULTURE
- Consists of words people use, the habits they follow, the ideas, customs, behavior, of any
society profess and to which they strive to conform.
- It is the meaning and substance inherent in culture.

- Reference: Palispis, Epitacio. (2008).Introduction to Sociology and Anthropology.

COMPONENTS OF CULTURE

A. NORMS
- These are guides or models of behavior which tell us what is proper and which are
not, appropriate or inappropriate, right or wrong.
- Norms regulate people’s behavior in a given society.
- Norms are usually in the form of rules, standards, or prescriptions and socially
shared expectations.
- Some norms apply to everyone. Other norms apply to particular categories of
people who assume certain roles.
- Norms define the proper way of behaving.
- Created to make a society unchaotic

TWO TYPES OF NORMS

 Ideal Norm – norm expected to exist
 Real Norm – norm actually existing

 One way sociologists classify norms is on the basis of the degree of disapproval that results
when they are violated. Norms vary from society to society or from group to group within a
society.

Sanctions – Socially imposed reward and punishment

INFORMAL SANCTIONS FORMAL SACTIONS

Praise High Grades
Friendship Awards in school
REWARD Promotion
Favorable public opinion Salary increase
Medals of honor
Ridicule Failing grades
Gossip Demotion
PUNISHMENT Embarrassment Removal from office
Withdrawing of friendship and Fine
affection Imprisonment/Death Penalty

FORMS OF NORMS

 Folkways
- Customary patterns of everyday life that specify what is socially correct and
proper in everyday life. They are repetitive or the typical habits and patterns
of expected behavior followed within a group of community. They are the
general rules, customary and habitual ways and patterns of expected within
a society.

- Reference: Palispis, Epitacio. (2008).Introduction to Sociology and Anthropology.

 - They are rigidly enforced but the sanctions in violating the folkways are
mild.

 Mores
- Special folkways which are important to the welfare of the people and their
cherished values. They embody the code of ethics and standards of morality.
They are based on ethical and moral values which are strongly held and
emphasized.
- ‘thou shall not’; taboos
- The observance is compulsive and violation of mores is regarded as immoral
and sinful.

 Laws
- Formalized social norms, enacted by people who are vested with
governmental power and enforced by political and legal authorities
designated by the government. Some of the laws grew out of the folkways
and mores (legalized mores).

B. Fashions, fads, crazes

- They are more short-lived social norms which demand compliance at the time they
operate.
- They are powerful determinant of behavior; the prestige and status of a person
depend on his or her use of these new styles.

C. Language
- It refers to a system of symbols that have specific and arbitrary meaning in a given
society.
- The key factor in human race’s success in creating and preserving culture. It is the
symbolic communication or language that sets human beings apart from other
species.

D. Values
- Represent the standards we use to evaluate the desirability of things. Values define
what is important and worthwhile.
- These values are the basis of our judgment, of what we consider good, desirable,
and correct as well as what is considered bad, undesirable, ugly and wrong.
- Every culture has a basic set of values which make up its core.

VALUES FILIPINOS HOLD HIGHLY

According to Jaime Bulatao, SJ’s study about Filipino Values

1. Emotional closeness and security in the family

- It provides understanding, acceptance, a place where, no matter how far or how
wrongly one has wandered, he can always return to his family.

- Reference: Palispis, Epitacio. (2008).Introduction to Sociology and Anthropology.

 2. The authority value
- This refers to the approval by the authority figure; Filipino family places high
authority on the elders.

3. Economic and social betterment

- It appears most often as a desire to raise the standard of living of one’s family
or of one’s hometown, often as a repayment for one’s debt of gratitude (utang
na loob) to parents and relatives.

CHARACTERISTICS OF CULTURE

1. Culture is learned and acquired

- Culture is not instinctive. It is acquired by each person through the senses and
experience. No one is born equipped with a particular language, or a
knowledge of religious beliefs.

2. Culture is transmitted from generation to generation

- The survival of a society requires that the people provide means by which their
culture can be learned and transmitted from one generation to the next.

3. Culture is a group-product
- It is conceptualized by not only one person.

4. Culture is adaptive
- Culture changes over time, and the changes are adjustments to the prevailing
environment. It is adaptive with respect to specific physical and social
environment.

5. Culture is relative
- It varies from one society to another.

MODES OF ACQUIRING CULTURE

 Imitation
- The process of imitation becomes possible because of the examples set by the
social environment. (Family members).
 Indoctrination
- This may take the form of formal teaching which may take place anywhere the
individual finds himself interacting with his fellow humans (school; church).
 Conditioning
- This process is further reinforced by a system of reward and punishment found in
the cultural system.

- Reference: Palispis, Epitacio. (2008).Introduction to Sociology and Anthropology.

CULTURAL TERMS
 Ethnocentrism
- The members of society have the tendency to regard its culture as the best and
superior than that of other groups.

Reasons for existence:

 promote unity
 protection from change

 Xenocentrism
- The people regard its own culture as inferior to that of other groups.
 Culture Shock
- It happens when a person has internalized his own culture.
- It occurs when a person loses familiar symbols and signs of his culture and he goes
through unpleasant and frustrating experience.
 Enculturation
- the learning of one’s own culture
 Acculturation
- The learning of another culture after learning your own.

- Reference: Palispis, Epitacio. (2008).Introduction to Sociology and Anthropology.