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What is sociology?
It is the study of the science of society, social institutions and social relationships
It is the systematic study of the development, structure, interactionism and collective
behavior of organized groups of human beings.
It is the scientific study of human society
It is interested in describing and explaining human behavior, especially as it occurs within
a social context; less interested in the individual than in the group of withc they are a part,
social influences affect our individual lives.
Social forces [social factors] influence the behavior of individuals
Sociology is the systematic study of how human societies shape the lives of people who live in
them. People make lots of decisions in the course of living every day. But we make these decisions
within the context of "society;" our family, school, nation and the larger world. The essential
wisdom of sociology is; the social world guides our life choices just as the seasons influence our
selection of activities and clothing.
The point of view that each one of us take as we witness and observe social events
1. Sociology enables us to see the general in the particular – This means finding general
patterns in particular events.
Example: Emile Durkheim’s pioneering study on suicide revealed that there are categories of
people who are more likely to commit suicide. The suicide rate was higher for the males,
Protestants, wealthy and the unmarried compared to the females, Catholics and Jews, the poor
and the married. In general the more socially integrated people (formed by ties of affection and
obligation) are less likely to end their lives. His study examined the recorded instances of suicide
in France and Central Europe in the late 19th century.
1. Sociology enables us to see the strange in the familiar – This means detaching ourselves
from common explanations by taking a new look at society. Human behavior is not simply
a matter of what people decide to do; society shapes our thoughts and deeds.
Example: In the Philippines, a fresh graduate from college most likely will find it hard to find a job,
especially one that fits his qualification/college degree. Should he be blamed for not finding
employment when in the Philippines, the unemployment rate (13.7 %) and underemployment rate
(18.5%) as of April 2004 are so high?
3. History of sociology as a science and its forerunners
4. Auguste Comte: the Father of Sociology
What sort of person would “invent” sociology?
Comte (1798-1857) grew up in the wake of the French Revolution, which brought a sweeping
transformation to his country. And if that was not sufficient, another revolution was under way as
factories were sprouting up across continental Europe, transforming the lives of the entire
population. The establishment of industrial economy, the growth of cities, and emergence of
different political ideas transformed social life. Problems such as unemployment, increasing crime
rate, malnutrition etc. emerged. Comte proposed that to understand society, it should be analyzed
as it really was unlike the early philosophers and theologians who looked at society in its ideal
state.
Comte further favored positivism, an approach to understanding the world based on science.
He believed that society operates according to certain laws, just as the physical world operates
according to gravity and other laws of nature.
3. Herbert Spencer
Spencer (1820 – 1903) likened society to an organism with a life and vitality of its own. He
first used the term survival of the fittest when he proposed the policy of noninterference in human
affairs and society, believing that doing something to help the weak, poor and needy would
interfere with the natural selection process in his native England.
5. Max Weber
Weber (1864 – 1920) believed that a “sympathetic understanding, verstehen, of the mind of
others” was essential to understanding the behavior of others.
The qualitative, subjective methods as well as objective, quantitative methods should be
used in the study of social actions. His works “The Protestant Ethics and the Spirit of Capitalism,
The Sociology of Hinduism and Buddhism, Theory of Social and Economic Organization” among
others dwelt on the significance of subjective meanings people give to their interactions with
others.
4. How sociology started in the Philippines
3 stages:
1. Sociology was viewed as social philosophy
This orientation started with the inclusion of sociology in college and university
offerings and taught as social philosophy
It was introduced by Fr. Valentin Marin when he initiated a course on criminology
at UST
There was little emphasis on the scientific nature of sociology