Transcript The Dead Sociologists Society

The Dead Sociologists
Society
Auguste Comte
• 1798-1857; was a French
philosopher
• Considered the “Father of
Sociology”
• Lived during the French
Revolution – chaotic period so
wanted to find solutions
• Studying social behavior would
lead to more rational human
interactions
• Problems of order and change
should be sociologists’ main
concern
• Influenced by the scientific
method
• Believed a systematic
investigation of behavior was
needed to improve society
• Gave Sociology its name
• In the hierarchy of sciences,
he placed Sociology on top
• Functionalist or Interactionist
Karl Marx
• 1818 – 1883; was a German
philosopher
• Lived during the Industrial
Revolution (1820-1895) –
people work in factories, feel a
loss of control, feel dominated
& exploited by others
• Marx studied this class
struggle & effects of capitalism
• Conflict theorist
• Rich (Bourgeoisie, Owner) vs.
Poor (Proletariat, Worker)
• Overall structure of society is
influenced by how economy is
organized
Herbert Spencer
• 1820-1903 – English
philosopher
• Functionalist – he did not feel
compelled to correct or improve
society
• Most famous for applying
Darwin’s theory of natural
selection to people
• “Survival of the fittest” – some
people are poor and some are
rich (called Social Darwinism)
• Societies are bound to change
but this will happen gradually
• Social change and unrest were
natural occurrences in society’s
evolution toward stability
Emile Durkheim
• 1858-1917 – French
philosopher
• Researched suicide
• Studied suicide rates and how
they varied from country to
country
• Found suicide was related to
group life
• Studied the individual in the
group setting - person who felt
lack of cohesiveness in the
group is more likely to commit
suicide
• Suicide rates of a society
reflect the extent to which
people were or were not
integrated into the group life of
the society
DO NOT NEED TO COPY THIS
• Interesting stat: Durkheim
found that there were higher
rates of suicide in times of
peace than in times of war and
revolution…..why do you think
this is???
Max Weber
• 1864-1920 - German
• To study behavior, we must
learn the subjective meanings
people attach to their actions –
how they view and explain their
own behavior
• Need to study people’s
emotions, thoughts, beliefs, &
attitudes
• Ideal Type: construct a madeup model that serves as a
measuring rod against which
actual cases can be evaluated,
the essential characteristic
• Try to see the world objectively
• VERSTEHEN – sociologist
places himself in place of
others & attempts to see
things through their eyes
W.E.B. DuBois
• 1868-1963 - American
• Conflict theory
• Conducted research that he
hoped would assist in the
struggle for racial equality in
society
• He drew on scientific principles
to study social problems faced