SOC 121 - Origins of Sociology

The origins of Sociology
A relatively new academic

discipline
The foundations of Sociology
• One of the youngest academic disciplines

• Auguste Comte coined the term Sociology
in 1838
• Comte used the term Sociology to
describe a new way of analysing and
understanding society
• 18th and 19th centuries in Europe were

characterised by two major social
transformations that changed society
- The French Revolution
- The Industrial Revolution
• These transformations in European

Societies changed the ways in which
society was organised in a number of
ways–for example
- The system of production changed
- Cities began to grow
- Political systems changed
• These transformations drove the

development of Sociology
• Unlike previous social thinkers Sociologists

were concerned with society as it existed
and not as it had existed in the past.
The Sociological Perspective –
Peter Berger
• Seeing the general in the particular

– Sociologists identify general social
patterns in the behavior of particular
individuals
• Individuals are unique but, society’s social
forces shape us into “kinds” of people
The Sociological Perspective –
Peter Berger
• Seeing the strange in the familiar

• Giving up the idea that human behavior is
simply a matter of what people decide to do
• Understanding that society shapes our lives
C. Wright Mills’ Sociological
Imagination
• The power of the sociological
perspective lies not just in
changing individual lives but in
transforming society
• Society, not people’s personal
failings is the cause of social
problems
C. Wright Mills’ Sociological
Imagination
• The sociological imagination

transforms personal problems into
public issues
Sociological Theory
• Theory: a statement of how and

why facts are related to each
other
Theoretical paradigm
• Theoretical paradigm: a set of

fundamental assumptions that
guides thinking
• An image / vision of society that
guides research and analysis
Sociological Theory
–Three major
approaches/theories
• Structural-functional/functionalism
• Social-conflict/conflict theory
• Symbolic-interaction/action theory
Functionalism
• The basics
– A macro-level orientation, concerned with
broad patterns that shape society as a
whole
– Views society as a complex system whose
parts work together to promote solidarity
and stability
Functionalism
• Key elements:
– Social structure refers to any relatively
stable patterns of social behavior found in
social institutions
– Social function refers to the
consequences for the operation of society
as a whole
Functionalists
• Auguste Comte
– Importance of social integration
during times of rapid change
• Emile Durkheim
– Helped establish sociology as a
university discipline
Functionalists
• Herbert Spencer
– Compared society to the human
body, organic approach
• Talcott parsons
– Sought to identify tasks that every
society must perform
Functionalists
• Robert K. Merton
– Manifest functions are recognized
and intended consequences
– Latent functions are unrecognized
and unintended consequences
– Social dysfunctions are undesirable
consequences
FUNCTIONALISM
• A Theoretical framework that views

society as a complex system whose parts
work together to promote solidarity and
stability
FUNCTIONALISM-MAIN FOCUS
• SOCIAL INTEGRATION
• SOCIAL SOLIDARITY
FUNCTIONALISM- KEY TERMS
• Social Structure – stable patterns of social

behaviour
• Social function
• Social integration
• Social solidarity
• Manifest functions = intended outcomes
• Latent functions = unintended outcomes
Conflict theory
The basics:
– A macro-oriented paradigm
– Views society as an arena of
inequality that generates conflict
and social change
Conflict theory
• Key elements:
– Society is structured in ways to
benefit a few at the expense of the
majority
– Factors such as race, sex, class, and
age are linked to social inequality
Conflict theory – key elements
– Dominant group vs. Minority group

relations
• Incompatible interests and major
differences
Conflict theorists
• Karl Marx
– The importance of social class in
inequality and social conflict
• W.E.B. DuBois
– Race as the major problem facing
the United States in the twentieth
century
Conflict theory
• A theoretical framework that views society

as a system characterised by social
inequality
• In essence conflict theory enables us to
see how inequality is rooted in the
organisation of society
Conflict theory
• It’s main focus:
- Social inequality
- Social conflict
- Social change
Conflict theory – key terms
• Social structure
• Social inequality
• Social institutions = sub-systems of
society
CONFLICT THEORY – KARL MARX
• His main focus: - the economy as a social

institution that dominates all others in
directing society
• His main concern: - what he saw in the
early stages of industrial capitalism in
Europe
• In his work Marx emphasised the impact

of economic factors in producing social
change and the nature of that change
• For Marx capitalism as an economic
system influences and shapes the modern
world
• Two key concepts:

- the base – the economic base
- the superstructure – all other social
institutions built on and influenced by the
economic system/the base
• For Marx the cause of social change is the

pressure experienced in society for
constant economic transformation and
change
• For Marx society i.e. capitalist society is

divided into two groups or two social
classes:
• - the bourgeoisie – those who own the
means of production
• - the proletariate – the workers
• Social conflict – is the struggle between

groups in society over valued resources
• - or the struggle between social classes
CONFLICT THEORY
• For all conflict theorists including Marx the

most significant type of social conflict is
between social classes and is caused by
the way in which society produces
material goods
• Historical materialism – which means that

how material goods are produced shapes
the rest of society
Conflict Theory and Functionalism
• Unlike the Functionalist approach conflict

theory highlights not social solidarity or
social integration but the existence of
divisions within society that are based on
inequalities
• Thus conflict theorists seek to isolate and
understand the causes of social inequality
in any one society
• The causes of social inequality lie in the

unequal distribution of a society’s
resources
• Examples of resources are:
- Money
- Power
- Education
- Social status and prestige
• Thus conflict theorists look at how the

unequal distribution of resources in any
society is linked to factors such as class,
ethnicity and gender in creating and
perpetuating social inequalities.
• Functionalism on the other hand identifies

the various social structures and the
functions of each one in society
- first the structure is recognized

- second it’s function is outlined
• Functionalism views society as a system of

inter-related parts that is relatively stable
and based on consensus (agreement) as
to what is morally desireable.
• Each part of society has a function / part /
role to play in the operation of society as a
whole
Critique of Functionalism
• The emphasis placed on social integration

means that no attention is paid to social
inequality
• How can society have a natural order
when social patterns vary from place to
place and change over time
Critique of conflict theory
• With its emphasis on social inequality and

conflict it fails to consider sets of shared
values and levels of interdependence
between individuals in society
Symbolic Interaction
Paradigm
• The basics:
– A micro-level orientation, a close-up focus on
social interactions in specific situations
– Views society as the product of everyday
interactions of individuals
Paradigm
• Key elements:
– Society is nothing more than the shared
reality that people construct as they interact
with one another
– Society is a complex, ever-changing mosaic of
subjective meanings
Paradigm
• Considers how people orientate
themselves to each other and how they do
so on the basis of meanings
• Focus on how human meanings and action
shape society
• Notes that societies differ in the ways in
which their members think about the
world
Paradigm
• Modern society is the product of

technological change but it is also the
product of new ways of thinking
Paradigm
• Max Weber – founder of this perpsective
– Understanding a setting from the people
in it
- Considers how people orientate themselves to
each other and how they do so on the basis
of meanings
Paradigm - Weber
• Focus on how human meanings and action

shape society
• Notes that societies differ in the ways in
which their members think about the
world
Paradigm - Weber
• Weber’s ideal type:
- An abstract statement of the essential
though often exaggerated characteristics
of any social phenomenon
- Ideal types can be compared and
contrasted with actual empirical forms
found in society
Paradigm
• George Herbert Mead
– How we build personalities from social
experience
– Focus on how we assemble our sense of
self over time based on our social
experience
Paradigm - Mead
• Society emerges as a shared reality
that it’s members construct as they
interact with one another
• Through finding meaning in our

surroundings we define our identity,
rights and obligations towards others
Paradigm - Mead
• Society is thus a mosaic of subjective

meanings
• His emphasis is largely on how individuals
experience society
Paradigm
• George Homans & Peter Blau

– Social-exchange analysis
Critical Evaluation
• Structural-Functional
– Too broad, ignores inequalities of social
class, race & gender, focuses on
stability at the expense of conflict
Critical Evaluation
• Social-Conflict
– Too broad, ignores how shared values
and mutual interdependence unify
society, pursues political goals
Critical Evaluation
• Symbolic-Interaction
– Ignores larger social structures, effects
of culture, factors such as class, gender
& race

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The origins of Sociology

A relatively new academic

• One of the youngest academic disciplines

• 18th and 19th centuries in Europe were

• These transformations in European

• These transformations drove the

• Unlike previous social thinkers Sociologists

• Seeing the general in the particular

• Seeing the strange in the familiar

• The sociological imagination

• Theory: a statement of how and

• Theoretical paradigm: a set of

• A Theoretical framework that views

• Social Structure – stable patterns of social

– Dominant group vs. Minority group

• A theoretical framework that views society

• It’s main focus:

• His main focus: - the economy as a social

• In his work Marx emphasised the impact

• Two key concepts:

• For Marx the cause of social change is the

• For Marx society i.e. capitalist society is

• Social conflict – is the struggle between

• For all conflict theorists including Marx the

• Historical materialism – which means that

• Unlike the Functionalist approach conflict

• The causes of social inequality lie in the

• Thus conflict theorists look at how the

• Functionalism on the other hand identifies

- first the structure is recognized

• Functionalism views society as a system of

• The emphasis placed on social integration

• With its emphasis on social inequality and

• Modern society is the product of

• Focus on how human meanings and action

• Through finding meaning in our

• Society is thus a mosaic of subjective

• George Homans & Peter Blau

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