Transcript Foundations of Sociological thought

FOUNDATIONS OF
SOCIOLOGICAL
THOUGHT
What is Sociology?
• Comte (1798-1857) – Knowledge of society
• Browne (1992) – Developing a critical
understanding of society; understanding social
relations; understanding our social world
• Scientific study of human behaviour in groups
• Giddens (2001) – study of human social life,
groups and societies
What is Sociology?
Generally therefore Sociology is seen as the
study of human behaviour in society.
There is ongoing debate as to whether Sociology
can be defined as a science – i.e. meeting the
rigid requirements of science.
What is society?
• Society is defined as one type of social
organisation;
• Society is a social organisation in which
individuals interact with each other and in the
process patterns of behaviour become
acceptable and sustainable among them
What is society?
• Society is a social system comprising
interconnected and interrelated parts (sub
systems)
• Some suggest that society is a social organism
similar to a biological organism in that there is
a whole made up of different yet interconnected
parts all working for the benefit of the whole.
What is society?
• Linton, quoted in Chinoy (1954) – defined
society as ‘any group of people who have
worked together long enough to get themselves
organised and think of themselves as a social
unit with well-defined limits’.
What are beliefs?
• Beliefs are systems of meaning around which
culture is organised
• Beliefs are practical
• Statements that are held to be true
• Beliefs motivate behaviour
• Beliefs may integrate of divide societies
What are values?
• Values are behaviours that the society
considers valuable or important enough to hold
dear
• Talcott Parsons defined values as behaviours
that society considers desirable and
worthwhile;
• Values influence the social conduct of members
What are norms?
• Norms are behaviours that govern social action
and which the majority of the members of
society regards as proper, right and expected.
• Norms lead to the standardisation of behaviour
within any given society
• Norms are an important form of social control
Norms
• There are four types of norms:
- Mores
- Folkways
- Taboos
- Laws
What are mores?
• Mores are norms that society considers vital
for its survival; what is right and wrong, moral
and immoral
• Strongly sanctioned by society. Eg. Society
insists on respect for human life. Therefore
murder is harshly punished.
What are folkways?
• Folkways are norms governing behaviour
which the society considers acceptable but does
not insist upon. Eg Using a spoon instead of a
knife and fork at table; picking one’s nose in
public
• Folkways are relatively weak norms
What are taboos?
• Taboos are behaviours that society finds
revolting. Eg Incest;
What are laws?
• Laws are norms that society considers
sufficiently valuable that they are
codified/formalised through the legislative
process with specific formal sanctions/penalties
to be imposed on those who break them. Eg
Praedial larceny
What are social institutions?
• Parsons: Social Institutions are ‘normative
patterns which define what are felt to be proper,
legitimate or expected modes of action of social
relationships’
• Eg. Family, religion, education, economy,
political subsystem, legal subsystem, mass
media.
What is social structure?
• Social structure refers to the framework of a
society
• The patterns around which society is organised
What is culture?
• ‘The culture of a society is the way of life of
its members; the collection of ideas and habits
which they learn, share and transmit from
generation to generation’ – Ralph Linton
(1954)
What is culture?
• ‘Culture is that complex whole which includes
knowledge, art, belief, morals, law, custom and
any other capabilities acquired by man as a
member of society’ – Tylor (1954)
What is culture?
• Culture is learnt
• Culture is intangible
• Culture is shared
• Culture is transmitted through successive
generations
• Culture is symbolic
• Culture changes over time and place
What is a sub culture?
• A sub culture is the way of life of a segment of
society that differs from that of the majority of
the members of the society.
• Sub cultures are a reality in any given society
• Eg. The Rastafarians constitute a sub culture in
Jamaican society. The seek to live in a manner
that distinguishes them from the rest of the
society. They have their own beliefs, values and
norms.
What is socialisation?
• Socialisation is the process by which the
culture of a society are transmitted through to
successive generations
The agents of socialisation?
• The Agents of Socialisation are:
- Family
- Peer Group
- School
- Religion/Church
- Mass Media
Types of socialisation?
• Formal socialisation – deliberate
• Informal socialisation – unconscious
• Primary socialisation – the individual and primary
relations – Family
• Secondary socialisation - the individual and
secondary relations – the school; peer group
• Tertiary socialisation – the work force and tertiary
education
Status
• Status refers to the social honour/social respect
accorded to an individual in society.
Ascribed status – allocated at birth; has nothing
to do with the individual per se
Achieved status – allocated based on the
performance/achievement of the individual
Roles
• Roles are the behaviours, obligations and
privileges associated with a status essentially
defining the way an individual is expected to
behave in given situations.
• Father, mother, teacher, preacher are some of
the roles in society
Roles
• Role Conflict refers to situations where an
individual having more than one status in
society finds him/herself performing
different roles.
• Role Strain refers to situations where an
individual comes under pressure because of the
demands of different roles attached to one status
Groups
• Groups are ‘two or more persons linked by ties
of mutual dependence and by a set of norms
prescribing expected ways of behaving toward
each other’ Study Guide
• Groups are individuals who share a sense of
common identity and belonging
Types of Groups
• Primary Group – ‘we’ - Family, close friends, peer
group
• Secondary Group – larger, anonymous, impersonal
• In-Group – Members have strong sense of loyalty
• Out-Group – A group to which one feels a sense of
antagonism
• Reference Group –used as a standard for comparison
Community
• Community refers to a cluster of people –
individuals, homes, places of work.
• A set of primary and secondary groups
responding to the basic needs of its members
Gemeinschaft (Community)
• Ferdinand Tonnies defined Gemeinschaft as a
society in which the majority of social
relationships established are based on personal
ties of friendship and kinship
Gesellschaft (Association)
• Tonnies defined Gesellschaft as a society where
the dominant social relationships are based on
formal, impersonal and specialised
Sociology and Psychology
• Psychology deals with the individual
personality – how the mind is shaped and
works.
• It offers explanations of emotions, thoughts,
beliefs and actions from the vantage point of
the individual
Sociology and Political Science
• Political science deals with the allocation of resources
in society – who gets what;
• Political science relates to the power relations in
society; what kinds of power ; how it is distributed
• Sociology investigates the relationship between
political structure and social life/behaviour
Sociology and History
• History focuses on individual contributions
and causes of events within specific social
context
• Sociology seeks explanations for the way social
life has changed through time
Sociology and Economics
• Economics examines production, distribution,
trade, consumption patterns and the social
institutions that organise these in society
• Addresses wealth creation; poverty
• Sociology examines the impact of the economy
on social behaviour in society
Sociology and Social Work
• Social Work focuses on micro issues – how
one individual relates to another;
• Focuses on resolving social problems –
behavioural change; social reform
• Sociology provides the information – causes of
behaviour – that is used by social workers
Sociology and Anthropology
• Anthropology focuses on simpler societies;
adopts a holistic view as opposed to
sociology’s focus on social institutions
Sociology and Demography
• Demography refers to the study of population;
its movement; trends etc
• Sociology utilises the data to determine the
causes of the relationships established in the
society
Sociological Imagination
C Wright Mills coined the concept of the
Sociological Imagination
• Historical Sensibility – reviewing what has
gone before; reviewing the changes in society
through the ages
Sociological Imagination
• Anthropological Insight – reviewing our
perception of life today as being superior to
what obtained before;
• Realisation of the diversity of human behaviour
Sociological Imagination
• Critical of the present – ‘be conscious of
alternative futures that are potentially open to
us’
•