Module03:

Sociological Perspectives
Course Code: SOC101
Course Teacher: Farhana Sultana
What is a Sociological Perspective?
• a sociological mindset in regards to being able
to connect individual experiences and societal
relationships.
• the lens that an individual chooses to view the
scope of society from.
• an outlook that goes beyond the obvious and
questions what is accepted as true or common
sense.
 Why do we need a sociological
perspective?
• To help us to see
general social patterns
in the behavior of
particular individuals
• To gain insights about
the social world that
extend far beyond
explanations that rely
on individual quirks and
personalities
 Scopes of Analysis
• Macro Level: the study • Micro Level: the study
of social structure of individual social
and/or institutions interaction
– the position within the – an individual’s
social structure (status, interpretation of a
roles, institutions) situation and the
determines human meaning they give it
behavior. define human behavior.
 Major Sociological Perspectives
• Structural Functionalism
• Conflict Theory
• Interactionalism Theory
 Structural Functionalism
• Tries to identify the
structures of society and
how they function.
• Stresses that relations
among the individuals,
groups and societies
follow well-defined
patterns of social
organization.
• Emphasizes stability,
harmony and evolution
The Structural Functionalism Model
 Structural Functionalism
• Macro theory
• Views society as a system
– The society is a set of interconnected parts which together
form a whole.
– The basic unit of analysis is society, and its various parts are
understood primarily in terms of their relationship to the
whole.
– Can be understood by the human body analogy
• functionalists argue that an understanding of any organ in the body, such as
the heart or lungs, involves an understanding of its relationship to other
organs and in particular, its contribution towards the maintenance if the
organism.
 Structural Functionalism (Cont.)
• Interdependence
– Each and every part of a society are interrelated
and interdependent and therefore contributing to
the maintenance of the whole.
– Change in any one part would result in change in
the other parts in society.
– Every individual in society has a part to play which
leads to interdependence of individuals and
determines the smooth running of society.
Structural Functionalism (Cont.)
– Each individual has a status in society and with
this status comes a role that he/she performs.
– A role is the behavior which is expected of the
individual who occupies a given social
position/status in society.
– People have many roles in society despite his
status/position.
– For example, a woman may be a doctor, her
status, and she may have to play the role of
mother, daughter, aunt, sister, etc.
 Structural Functionalism(Cont.)
• Equilibrium
– Remember functionalists see each part of the system as
being interrelated and interdependent.
– Functionalists maintain that each part must be functioning
properly, fulfilling its functions, and must therefore, be in
equilibrium if it is to contribute to the maintenance of the
equilibrium of the whole.
– Change in these system must be orderly.
– Any change in one institution results in an orderly movement
of the forces within that institution toward equilibrium, thus
resulting in the movement of the whole to a new equilibrium,
which maintains social order.
 Structural Functionalism (Cont.)
• Consensus
– Functionalists see individual behavior as being governed
by norms and values that are generally acceptable in
society.
– Norms are defined as “specific rules of behavior, agreed
upon and shared, that prescribe limits if acceptable
behavior.” (Tischler; 2002)
– Norms are patterns of behaviour that are specific to a
society and may differ from one society to another.
– Values refer to “notions of what is good and bad, what is
desirable and undesirable.” (Tischler; 2002)
Structural Functionalism (Cont.)
– The norms and values that are universally adhered
to in the society are embodied in the formal laws of
the country and govern social behavior.
– This trend contributes to consensus in society.
– If someone adheres to the norms, rewards would
be achieved, whereas if the behaviour deviated
from the norm, punishment would result.
– Norms are not written or documented in formal
ways but are passed on from generation to
generation through the process of socialization.
 Specialists of Structural
Functionalism
• Auguste Comte
– Positivism
– 3 Stages of Society
• Emile Durkheim
– Social Facts
– Collective Conscience
– Social Stability
Auguste Comte (1798 – 1857)
 Auguste Comte’s Perspective
• Saw the science of society (which he termed Sociology) as
essentially similar to natural science (biology, physics, etc).
• His positivist approach was based on the principle of direct
observation, which could be explained by theoretical
statements based on established causal, law-like
generalizations.
• Comte said that the task of Sociology is to gain reliable
knowledge of the social world in order to make predictions
about it, and, on the basis of those predictions, to intervene
and shape social life in progressive ways.
 Auguste Comte’s Perspective
(Cont.)
• Most sociologists today think such reliable, predictive
knowledge can’t ever be achieved in relation to
human beings.
• The main reason why so many sociologists reject
Comtean positivism is because they see the idea of
shaping and controlling people and societies as
impossible, potentially dangerous or both.
• Besides, we cannot study humans in a laboratory, or
the same way we would study a frog as people act in
ways that are unpredictable.
 Auguste Comte’s Perspective
(Cont.)
• Comte’s ideas were extremely influential and his theory of
development of the sciences was an inspiration to other
thinkers working with theories of evolutionary social
development.
• Comte believed that society has passed through three stages:
– Theological: thoughts were guided by religious ideas and society is an
expression of God’s will.
– Metaphysical: accounted through the Renaissance Period as society is
seen as natural and not supernatural.
– Positive: Encouragement of the application of scientific knowledge to
analyze society.
Emile Durkheim (1858 – 1917)
 Emile Durkheim’s Perspective
• Influenced by Comte.
• People are exclusively the products of their social
environment.
• Society shapes people in every possible way.
• Durkheim saw the study of social phenomenon was
needed whenever research into people’s actions
went beyond their individual interactions.
 Emile Durkheim’s Perspective
(Cont.)
• Social institutions and social forms – social movements and the
family – outlive the particular individual who inhibit them and
they therefore must have a reality of their own.
• This reality cannot be adequately understood by an
individualistic psychology or abstract philosophical speculation.
• In Durkheim’s view, what we call ‘the social’ is a level of reality
in its own right that cannot be reduced to mere action, nor the
simple combined individual consciences.
• Thus Durkheim focuses on group phenomena and social facts
such as comparative suicide rates., social solidarity and
religion.
 Emile Durkheim’s Perspective
• Another example is his work on The Division of Labour
in Society (1893) where he outlined the difference
between mechanic and organic forms of social
solidarity.
‒ Mechanical Solidarity (automatic) - everyone acts in the
same way; laws are repressive and designed to punish.
‒ Organic Solidarity (modern societies) - people stay together
because they need each other’s services, laws are
restrictive and designed to restore contractual nature of
human relations.
• Durkheim argued that society has a reality of its own
over and above the individual who comprise it.
 Emile Durkheim’s Perspective
(Cont.)
• Members of society are constrained by “social facts” by “ways of
acting, thinking and feeling, external to the individual, and
endowed with a power of coercion, by reason of which they
control him.”
• Beliefs and moral codes are passed from generation to
generation and shared by members who make up society.
• From this point of view, it is not the consciousness of the
individual that directs behavior, but common beliefs and
sentiments that transcend the individual and shape his/her
consciousness.  Collective Conscience.
• Durkheim sees society as a system separately from social actors.
 Social Equilibrium
• Importance is placed on value consensus so that
sociology can analyze the “institutionalization of
patterns of value orientation in the social system”.
• When values are institutionalized and behavior is
structured in terms of them, the result is a stable
system.
• A state of ‘social equilibrium’ is attained when the
various parts of the system is in a state of balance.
 Two Ways to maintain Social
Equilibrium
• Socialization – this is where society’s values are
transmitted from one generation to the next
and internalized to form an integral part of
individual personalities.
• Social Control – various mechanism of social
control discourage deviance and so maintain
social order; this may be done formally (via the
laws of a society) or informally (via the
values/morals of a society)
 Conflict Theory
• Addresses the point of stress and conflict in society
and the way they contribute to social change.
• Views a society’s legal system as a political
instrument used by the wealthy and powerful to
protect and extend their privileges, not a rational
tool for the resolution of conflict and preservation of
order.
• Society is not about solidarity or social consensus but
about competition.
 Conflict Theory (Cont.)
• Alternative to functionalism
• Macro-sociological theoretical perspective
• Resentment and hostility are constant elements
of society
• Power differences among social classes
• Special interest groups fight over scarce
resources of society
– Interest groups fight to gain advantages over others
The Conflict Theory Model
 Conflict Theory vs Marxism
Conflict Theory Marxism
• Power is the core of ALL • Much like conflict theory
social relationships. but power is gained through
economics
– Characterized by an economic
struggle between the haves
and have-nots.
 Conflict Theory (Cont.)
• Competition puts society off-balance until
dominant group gains control and stability
through power.
 Influences: Karl Marx (1818 –
1883)
• Humanist: wanted all individuals to reach their
full human potential
• Believed humans make their own history
(historical method)
• Controlling material production division of
labor formation of economic social classes
Class struggle
• Tried to combine material and ideal factors/
structural and cultural factors
 Karl Marx (Cont.)
• Society was a two-class system:
1. Bourgeoisie (owners of the means of
production)
2. Proletariat (workers)
 Influences: Max Weber (1864-
1920)
• Agreed with Marx (economics played a
central role in power distinction).
• Believed in Two other factors:
1. Social prestige (status)
• Example: someone could be poor and still hold a lot
of power because of social prestige  Mother
Theresa
2. Political influence
• Example: Politician who has great power, but does
not earn a big salary
 Max Weber (Cont.)
• Weber defined power as “the ability to impose one’s
will on another, even when the other objects”.
• Authority: legitimate power; used with consent of
the ruled
• Distribution of power and authority = basis of social
conflict
• HOWEVER: if subordinates believe in the authority =
avoided conflict. If authority is not recognized as a
legitimate = conflict.
 Max Weber (Cont.)
• People with power want to keep it
• People w/out power want to seek it
• 3 types of authority:
1. Rational-legal
2. Traditional
3. Charismatic
 Relevancy
• Maintains that what social order does, is the
result of power elites’ coercion of masses
• Those without power seek social change
• Two class system by Marx
• Contemporary conflict theorists don’t limit
power to just economics, but also look at
other issues
 Relevancy (Cont.)
• Three criticisms of conflict theory:
– Ignores other ways (i.e. non-forceful ways in
which people reach agreements
– Sides with people who lack power
– Focuses on economic factors as the sole issue for
all conflict in society
• This is primarily for Marx’s approach .
 Relevancy (Cont.)
• Differences in power are in all types of
interaction.
• Power used to be physical. Now however, it’s
legal and economic.