Emergence of Sociology

Emergence of Sociology and the
History of Sociological Thought

ETYMOLOGICAL MEANING OF SOCIOLOGY

Socius (Latin) -which means groups or partners

Logus (Greek)
-which means science or study

SOCIOLOGY

A.) Scientific study of patterns of human interaction that deals with the study of group life.

B.) Study of patterns and processes of human relations.

C.) Study of current issues and problems such as ethnic relations, family life, community life and participation, social mobility, etc.

D.) A body of scientific knowledge with theories based on scientific investigation rather than “Armchair speculation”.

The History and Development of Sociology as a Discipline

Origins of Sociology

Philosophers/religious authorities way of observing human behavior were not tested and verified.
Although they predicted that a systematic study of human behavior would one day emerge.

How sociology as a discipline evolves:

INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION

Mechanization/Technological advancements * Nature of work affected social relations and social interaction * Development of education/structures/communication * Rural to urban migration – urbanization
Economy
* Mass production, trade, employment and unemployment
Politics
Power, Bureaucracy, growth of mass movements

Evolution of economic systems:

* Mercantilism ----- gold and silver * Feudalism ------- land, landlord and tenancy system * capitalism ------- labor and capital * Socialism ------private ownership * Communism ------classless society

Pioneers in the Development of Sociology:

Abdel Rahman Ibn-Khaldun
1332-1406

* Scientific study of society; * Empirical research; * Search for the causes of social phenomena; * Interested in comparing primitive and modern societies; * Devoted considerable attention to various institutions.

Auguste Comte ( 1798-1857 )

* Father of Sociology * Coined the word Sociology, insisted that it could make a critical contribution to a new and improved human community * Positive Philosophy (1855) * Positivism – positive method/scientific method emphasizes the techniques of observation, comparison and experimentation in the development of knowledge concerning the nature of society and human action * Sociology as the queen of sciences and practitioners as “scientist-priests”

Law of the Three Stages (Comte)

* Theological God is the center of everything * Metaphysical Supernatural, Greek gods and goddesses * Philosophical “armchair speculation”/pedantic academic or not socially grounded * positivism, empirical investigation Harriet Martineau * English sociologist, wrote a book Society in America which examined customs and social practices in US and Britain; * People learned Comte’s work through her translations; * Her writings emphasized the impact of law, economy, trade, health and population to the social problems of contemporary society. * Gave special attention to social class distinctions to such factors as gender and race; * Conducted research on the nature of employment of women; * Asserted the role of scholars and intellectuals not only on observations of social conditions but to ACT on these conditions.

Herbert Spencer ( 1820-1903 )

“One need not be highly critical for the change of society”.

* Victorian Englishman, noted in understanding the society not in changing it * Adapted Darwinian’s principle “survival of the fittest” (it is natural that the rich are rich and the poor as poor)

Emile Durkheim ( 1858-1919 )

* French philosopher, Father of Scientific Sociology; * “Behavior to be understood within a social context”; * Religion reinforces social solidarity; * Viewed that the growing division of labor and specialization results to lost of direction and purpose in life leading to anomie and eventually to suicide; * Sociology to provide direction to social change; * Mechanical and organic social groups. * Theory of suicide

Karl Marx ( 1818-1883 )

* A political revolutionary and a social theorist; * Together with Friedrich Engels,they became active in organizing labor unions; * Wrote the Communist Manifesto, argued that laborers (proletariat) with no resources should fight and overthrow the capitalist societies (basis of the conflict theory). * The history of all existing society are a history of class struggle.

* Theory of Historical Materialism ( He propounded the materialist interpretation that social, cultural and political phenomena were determined by the mode of production of material things). * Marx’s model of social evolution: History as the history of class struggle resulting to social change.Stages of society: ANCIENT FEUDAL CAPITALISM
Theory of Alienation ( Human estrangement as rooted in social structures which denied people their human nature).
---out casting the poor
Theory of Dialectical Materialism (Rejects idealist explanation of social phenomena and suggests that all phenomena are material.

The Dialectical processes:

Thesis – reality develops into a conflict of opposites (seen in the relationship of the proletariat and capitalists); * Antithesis – an action produces a reaction (struggle of the proletariat to overthrow the capitalists which is the ruling class);Synthesis – change, integration (establishment of the dominant class, that is the working masses or the proletariat.

Sociological areas covered by Marx’s writings:
1. Analysis on the relationship of institutions to economic life specifically in terms of: * State of the family independent on the economy and their development; * Influence of the family on the operation of the economy.
2. Concept of Alienation * Alienated labor and the work imposed on them (laborers)
3. Theory of social change * Polarization of social class, class struggle as an active human intervention.
4. A capitalist society…
Capital spells out in: * Labor theory of value; * Theory of capital accumulation; * Capitalism’s collapse

Charles Horton Cooley (1864-1929)

* American sociologists, used the sociological perspective in looking at the smaller units, intimate, face-to-face groups such as family, gangs and friendship networks. * His work increased our understanding of groups of relatively small size.

Max Weber ( 1864- 1920 )

* German scholar, wrote Verstehen (understanding) or insight into intellectual work * Asserted understanding behavior through the subjective meanings people attach to their actions * Wrote the ideal type, (construct, made up model used as a measure rod against which cases are to be evaluated) * Theory of Bureaucracy (useful standard in measuring an organization, an example of an ideal type). * People learn ideas from others through the ongoing processes of symbolic interaction. Through symbols, words, action and gestures – people communicate the meanings of events, situations and behavior. * Social Action – occurs when people intend to act in ways others expect. It is the behavior intended to fulfill expectations. * Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism
----importance of religion in the accumulation of wealth for the country

Sigmund Freud (1856-1923)

* Psychoanalysis – a theory of the structure and the development of personality/method of psychotherapy for the treatment of neurosis. * With Joseph Breuer, study of libido as the root of neuroses.

George Simmel (1858-1918) * One of the founders of the German Sociological Society (With Max Weber); * Helped shape in the development of American sociology (the University of Chicago); * Philosophy of Money; * Forms of interaction (the stranger as an interactant); * Some crucial sociological developments takes place when a dyad is transformed into a triad; * Culture as a whole over the individual

Talcott Parsons (1902- * The structure of Social Action; * Social System theory; * Structural-Functionalism (AGIL- 4 functional imperatives used in the analysis of action systems).

George Herbert Mead (1863-1931) * Mind, Self and Society – not mind and then society; but society first and then minds arising with that society; * Priority of social world in understanding social experiences; * Symbolic-Interactionism.

The Beginnings of Sociology in the Philippines

Pioneers in the Development of Sociology as a Discipline

* Fr. Valentin Marin OP – introduced sociology as a subject in the academe of the University of Santo Tomas in 1896. * It was initiated in the University of the Philippines in 1911 by Prof. Murray Bartlet. * The Siliman University was one of the first to include sociology in their curriculum. * Sociology started as a social philosophy that continued up to the 1950’s. * Serafin Macaraig – the first Filipino to receive a PhD. In sociology in 1920 from the University of Wisconsin. ◦ He introduced the social problem orientation.

Sociology in the Philippines

* Modern Sociology started in the Philippines after the World War II * Many Filipinos Went to Europe and America to study sociology and went back to the Philippines as Fulbright professors, stirring the social interest of the people, most of them became technocrats during the Marcos regime. * There was strengthening of course offerings in universities like: University of the Philippines, Ateneo de Manila and Xavier University.
Other universities took sociology as a part of their curriculum. * 1952 – Philippine Sociological Society was organized. * It published the journal Philippine Sociological Review ◦ The Philippine Sociological Society in the beginning drew members from social sciences but the officers were mostly sociologists and anthropologists.

Relationship of Sociology with other Disciplines/Social Sciences

Types of Social Science

Pure social science (Economics, Political science, Anthropology, Psychology, Sociology and History). * Provides verifiable facts and fundamental principles, foundations upon which the applied social science base their program.
Applied social science (Social Work, Criminology, Education, Community Development Work and Community Organization. * Sciences directly involve in the provision of services to people.

Sociology and its Relationship with Other Branches of Knowledge

* The sciences related to sociology, but which differ from its emphasis and modes of analysis about society especially in the aspects of:
---- how systems operate;
---- organization of structures;
---- functions of theories;
---- relationship of concepts.

Sociology among the Other Social Sciences

* Psychology – focuses on individual behavior, examining the mind as well as the mental processes of the individual including learning, perception and motivation. * Economics – the study of economic life of humans and is focused on the various dimensions of wealth, such as its production, distribution and consumption. * Political Science – it studies the political behavior of humans and focuses on the various aspects of government, political institutions, political processes and political parties. * History – deals with the study of past realities and the unending struggle of people for freedom. * Anthropology – a broad scientific discipline dedicated to the comparative study of mankind, from its first appearance to its present stage of development.
--- applied anthropology – application of the findings of scientific anthropology to the solution of a wide range of problems.
---- action anthropology – a branch of anthropology that attempts to use the principles of cultural anthropology to aid a people in attaining goals that they have set for themselves.
---- cultural anthropology – study of culture and structures, emphasizing the configuration and interrelationship of cultural traits, complexes and social relationships in a particular geographical and historical context.

Careers in Sociology * Research * Profession in the fields of medicine, law, engineering and clergy * Non-government organizations (community organizers, community development workers, advocacy work, programs and project) * Embassies (policy writers, networking) * Government Agencies (social planning) * Educational management (teaching, administration) * Consultants in Social Welfare organization

The Characteristics of the
Scientific Approach

* Verifiable Evidence
----Factual observations which others can see, measure, weigh or check for accuracy; ---- An avenue/ tool for follow-up studies.

* Ethical Neutrality * Related to objectivity * One must remain neutral in the interpretation of one’s findings, without being influenced by his value judgment or his conviction about his own group or of himself. * Accuracy -It refers to the correctness of a statement * Precision ---- It refers to the exactness of a quantity and the degree or measurement. * Systematic ----working in accordance with a method of organization * Records
---The characteristic of having the ability of storing information and data using accepted technology. * Objectivity --- It means that the data must be presented, analyzed and interpreted independently of the researcher’s own beliefs and value judgments. --- It is the ability of the researcher to give an account of things as they are. * It has Trained Observation ---Observation must be undertaken by trained observers in the field in order to make research credible. * Must Identify Controlled Conditions --- A characteristic where scientific observation is conducted within situations that are manageable.