Comte Saint-Simon (1760
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Transcript Comte Saint-Simon (1760
Ideology, History, & Classical
Social Theory
►
What is a theorist?
►
Observes
►Seeks
order
Why are theories created?
Need
Impose order
Prediction & control
Theories Vary & Change
Same
experiences can be
theorized in different ways
Examples:
Greek understanding of
human body & personality
Earth as center of universe
Other examples?
The Universe
During the first few centuries B.C.
Greeks described the first realistic
model of the universe:
Earth in the center (sphere)
Concentric spheres with the sun,
moon, Mars, and Venus
On the outer sphere, were the stars
Earth at the Center
What is a Social Theory?
Definition: A body of organized, verifiable
ideas developed to explain various aspects
of society & social behavior.
Explains how & why specific facts are
related
Creates order
Make sense of the world & our place in the
world.
The Development of Social Theory
Historical
French
Context
Revolution (1789) to WWI 1919
Dramatic Changes
Economic
Social
Political
The Development of Social Theory
Change
How
in Ideas
people saw & made sense of the
world
Change after decades of little change
Cause of social change
Importance of religion
Ways of thinking about Change
God’s
will
Linear
(progress)
Cyclical
Linear Change
Cyclical Change
Thrive
Rise
Decline
8/28 Social theory to deal with:
Change
after stability
Widespread change
Uncertainty about the future
Examples:
Class conflict
Loneliness in cities
Social disorganization
Enlightenment 17th & 18th c.
Reason
can create a better
world by eliminating:
Ignorance
Superstition
Tyranny
The Enlightenment
Principal
Religion
targets:
(Catholic Church)
Hereditary
aristocracy
The Enlightenment
Ways
of knowing
Ideology
Reason
Science
Ideology
Justifies
existing social arrangements
Value-laden
Examples:
“Divine
Racism
Sexism
right of kings”
Reason
All
knowledge discovered through
rational processes
Universe operates on “laws”
Humans have:
Free will
Intelligence
Control destiny & environment
Science
Scientific
methods
Guidelines for gathering &
interpreting information
Value
free
Saint-Simon (1760-1825)
Social Environment
French social philosopher
American Revolution
Served on side of colonists
French Revolution
Made a fortune in land speculation
Increasing industrialization
The Enlightenment
Ideas
Promoted
Nature
study of nature
& society governed by laws
Reorganization
Organized
of society
by wise men
Based on scientific division of labor
Spontaneous social harmony
Ideas
State’s
3 responsibilities
1.Public works
2.Free education
3.Uplifting recreation
Ideas
“Industrial
army”
Construction
of roads, bridges,
canals, planting forests
Organism as metaphor for society
Science-> replace religion
“Saint-Simonianism”
After Saint-Simon’s death
Small group of follower’s organized
calling for:
Abolition of inheritance rights
Public control of means of production
Gradual emancipation of women
Became a moral-religious cult
Sociologists as high priests*
August Comte (1798-1857)
Social Environment
Social Upheaval
Series of governments:
Democratic
Oligarchy of middle-class elites
Dictatorship of Napoleon (1799-1814)
Return to Bourbon monarchy
His parents liked the monarchy
Economic problems
Religious turmoil
Goals for Sociology
Create
order
Unified
spiritual order
Social & political stability to France
View of society=Organic
Society’s basic unit is the family
Not
the individual
Family is emotional & moral union
Goals for Sociology
Social & political problems improved
by science
Natural laws
Diagnosed & cured like human diseases
Explain stability & change
Sociology
Replace Roman Catholic Church as source
Truth, Understanding, and Order *
Herbert Spencer
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Herbert Spencer
Religious
/ political / philosophical
background
Laissez-faire
economics
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Herbert Spencer
His book Social Statics:
Human happiness
Achieved only when individuals
Can satisfy their needs and desires
Without infringing on the rights of
others
To do the same.
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Herbert Spencer
“Society
is akin to a special
organism obeying its own laws of
progress.”
The
natural order of all societies is
one of hierarchy.
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Herbert Spencer
Almost a decade before Darwin
published On the Origin of
Species,
Spencer coined the phrase “survival
of the fittest.” *
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