Unit-I Code: 5637

Introduction to Sociology
Objectives
After reading this unit along with the suggested readings, you should be able to:

1. Explain the basics concepts of Sociology;

2. Discuss the various characteristics of Sociology;

3. Differentiate applied science from the pure science;

4. Differentiate the subject matter of sociology from other social sciences;

5. Identify different fields of sociology and

6. Highlight the major theoretical perspective of Sociology.

Summary of the Major Topics
 2.1 Historical Perspective of Sociology
Toward understanding the definition of Sociology------ All inquiries
were once a part of philosophy, the great mother of the sciences, and
philosophy embraces them all in an undifferentiated and amorphous
fashion. With the Growth of Western civilization, the various sciences
cut the apron strings, as it were and began to peruse separate and
independent courses. Astronomy and physics were among the first to
break away, and were followed thereafter by chemistry, biology, and
geology. In the 19th Century two new sciences appeared: Psychology
or the science of human behavior; and Sociology, or the science of
human behavior; and sociology, or the science of human society..
Thus, what had one been cosmology, a subdivision of philosophy,
became astronomy; what had once been natural philosophy, became
the science of psychology; and what had once been social philosophy,
became the science of sociology.
Definition of Sociology
"Sociology" is composed of two words : socius, meaning companion or
associate; and 'logos', meaning science or study. The etymological meaning
of "sociology" is thus the science of society.

The Subject has been looked from various points of view and now it is an
opportune time to define the subject properly. According to P.A Sorokin
"sociology is a generalizing science of socio-cultural phenomena viewed in
their generic forms, types, and manifold interconnections."

Sociology is the scientific study of human society and social behavior. The
subject matter of sociology is huge and complex, and the knowledge produced
by sociological research is still imperfect in many ways. However, it has taught
us a great deal about ourselves.
Characteristics of Sociology
Sociology is first of all a social science and not a natural science because it
deal with the science universe not with the physical universe. In the second
place, sociology is a categorical, not a normative, discipline because it
confines itself to statements about what is, not what should be or ought to be.

Sociology is a pure science, not an applied science because the immediate goal
of sociology is the acquisition of knowledge about human society, not the
utilization of that knowledge. The relations between pure and applied science
can be seen more clearly. if they are described in the following fashion.

Pure Science
Physics
Chemistry
History
Sociology
Characteristics of Sociology
A characteristic of sociology is that it is a general and not a special science. In
other words, sociology studies those phenomena that are common to all human
interaction. This point may be clarified by the following formula:

Economic a, b, c, d, e, f

Political a, b, c, g, h, i

Religious a, b, c, j, k, l

Legal a, b, c, m, n, o
Characteristics of Sociology
In all these phenomena, whether economic or political or religious, the same
a, b, c occur. For quick reference, these categories or canons are arranged in a
series of opposing pairs and italicize and underline those logical
characteristics that pertain to sociology:

Social Natural

Categorical Normative

Pure Applied

Abstract Concrete

Generalizing Particularizing

Rational Empirical

General Special