Chapter 1

INTRODUCTION
PUTTING SOCIAL LIFE INTO
PERSPECTIVE
 Questions to answer
The moment you wake up in the
morning, enumerate the choices,
decisions and actions you have which
are influenced by people and events
around you as well as the roles and
duties and demands pressed on you
by social conditions
 Questions to answer
How do you feel about being
pressured by these conditions? Do
you feel happy in carrying out the
demands or do you feel irritated or
frustrated because you can hardly
cope with them?
 How do these social forces jibe with
your own choices and decision?
 Personal Reactions
No man is an island
Man is not only a rational and political
being. Man is basically a gregarious
social being
The individual is the society, and the
society is the individual
 What is Sociology?
Sociology is the systematic study of
human society and social interaction.
Sociologists study societies and
social interactions to develop
theories of :
How human behavior is shaped by
group life.
How group life is affected by individuals.
 Why Study Sociology?
To obtain factual information about our
society and different aspects of our social
life.
Helps us gain a better understanding of
ourselves and our social world
Enables us to learn the application of
Scientific information to daily life and
problems
 Why Study Sociology?
Helps us replace superstition and
misinformation by accurate
knowledge about human behavior
Helps us see how behavior is shaped
by the groups to which we belong
and our society
Promotes understanding and
tolerance by helping us look beyond
personal experiences and gain
insight into the larger world order
 Society
A society is a large social grouping
that shares the same geographical
territory and is subject to the same
political authority and dominant
cultural expectations, such as the
United States, Mexico, or Nigeria.
 THE ORIGINS OF
SOCIOLOGICAL THINKING
 The Origins of Sociological Thinking

The first systematic analysis of

society is found in the philosophy of
the early Greeks.
The scientific revolution of the
seventeenth century inspired social
thinkers to believe that advances
could be made in the systematic
study of human behavior.
 In France, the Enlightenment was dominated
by the philosophers, including
Montesquieu, Rousseau, and Turgot.
They believed human society could be
improved through scientific discoveries.
If people were free from the ignorance of the
past, they could create new forms of political
and economic organization, which would
produce wealth and destroy the aristocracy.
Sociology and the Age of Revolution,
Industrialization, and Urbanization

The Enlightenment produced an intellectual

revolution in how people thought about
social change, progress, and critical thinking.
Views of the philosophers regarding equal
opportunity stirred political and economic
revolutions in America and France.
The Industrial Revolution occurred in the
19th and 20th centuries, when economic,
technological, and social changes occurred as
technology shifted from agriculture to
manufacturing.
 Sociology and the Age of Revolution,
Industrialization, and Urbanization
Industrialization is the process by which
societies are transformed from
dependence on agriculture and handmade
products to an emphasis on manufacturing
and related industries.
Urbanization is the process by which an
increasing proportion of a population lives
in cities rather than in rural areas.
THE DEVELOPMENT OF
MODERN SOCIOLOGY
 Auguste Comte (1798-1867)

Considered the founder of sociology.

Comtes philosophy became known as
positivism a belief that the world
can best be understood through
scientific inquiry.
Comte believed objective, bias-free
knowledge was attainable only through
the use of science rather than religion.
 Comte's positivism had two
dimensions:
Methodological - the application of
scientific knowledge to physical and
social phenomena.
Social and political - the use of such
knowledge to predict the likely
results of different policies so that
the best one could be chosen.
Herbert Spencer (1820-1903)
Spencers major contribution to
sociology was an evolutionary
perspective on social order and social
change.
Social Darwinism - the belief that
those human beings, best adapted to
their environment survive and
prosper, whereas those poorly
adapted die out.
 Karl Marx (1818-1883)
Viewed history as a clash between
conflicting ideas and forces.
Believed class conflict produced
social change and a better society.
Combined ideas from philosophy,
history, and social science into a new
theory.
 William Graham Sumner
(1840-1910)
He applied the biologists idea of the
survival of the fittest to social
structures and concluded that if
societal evolution is to continue,
business must be freed from
governmental interference so that a
competitive struggle could take
place.
 Lester Frank Ward (1841-
1939)
The first President of the American
Societal Association (1906)
He believed that societies tend to
progress from national freedom to
political freedom
Involving the abolition of slavery and
serfdom
 Ferdinand Toennies (1855-
1936)
Used the term Gemeinschaft and
Gesellschaft to characterize the degree of
social solidarity and social control found in
societies.
Gemeinschaft is a traditional society in
which social relationships are based on
personal bonds of friendship and kinship
Gesellschaft is a large, urban society in
which social bonds are based on
impersonal and specialized relationships
 Emile Durkheim (1858-1917)
Stressed that people are the product of
their social environment
Important concepts
Social facts--patterned ways of acting,
thinking, and feeling that exist outside any one
individual but that exert social control over
each person
Anomiea condition in which social control
becomes ineffective because of the loss of
shared values
 Max Weber (1864-1920)
Believed sociological research should
exclude personal values and
economic interests.
Provided insights on rationalization,
bureaucracy and religion.
One of the founders of symbolic
interactionism
Weber thought that to comprehend
social behavior, people must
understand the meanings attached to
their actions.
 Charles Horton Cooley
(1864-1929)
Preferred to look first at smaller
units- intimate, face to face groups
such as families and groups.
He saw these groups as the nursery
of human nature
Harriet Martineau (1802-1876)
Translated and condensed Comte's
work
Studied the social customs of Britain
and the United States
Advocated for racial and gender
equality
Martineaus book Society in
America scrutinized American
religion, politics, child rearing and
immigration
Georg Simmel (1858-1918)
Theorized about society as a web of
patterned interactions among people.
Analyzed how social interactions vary
depending on the size of the social
group.
Distinguished between form and
content of social interaction.
 Jane Adams (1860-1935)
Founded Hull House, one of the most
famous settlement houses, in
Chicago.
One of the authors of a methodology
text used by sociologists for the next
forty years.
Awarded Nobel Prize for assistance to
the underprivileged.
 W. E. B. Du Bois (1868-1963)
One of the first to note the identity
conflict of being both a black and an
American.
Pointed out that people in the U.S.
espouse values of democracy,
freedom, and equality while they
accept racism and group
discrimination.
 Question
____________examined religion,
politics, child rearing, slavery, and
immigration.
a. Auguste Comte
b. Harriet Martineau
c. Herbert Spencer
d. Emile Durkheim
e. Karl Marx
 Answer: b
Harriet Martineau examined
religion, politics, child rearing,
slavery, and immigration.
 Question
_____________stressed that
history is a continuous clash
between conflicting ideas and
forces.
a. Auguste Comte
b. Harriet Martineau
c. Herbert Spencer
d. Emile Durkheim
e. Karl Marx
 Answer: e
Karl Marx stressed that history is a
continuous clash between conflicting
ideas and forces.
 Development of Sociology in the
Philippines
UST (1896) Fr. Valentin Marin
UP (1911) Murray Barlett & A.E.W.
Salt
SU (1919) Clyde E. Heflin
PWU (1938) Felipe Gamboa
Dr. Serafin Macaraig, the first Filipino
to obtain a Ph. DD in Sociology from
the University of Wisconsin (1920)
 Development of Sociology in the
Philippines
1950s exodus of Filipino students
to the US to avail of full bright
scholarships
1952-1954
Philippine Sociological Society
Philippine Sociological Review Journal
1960-1970
Emperical Researches (UP, USC, Ateneo
etc.)
Comparing Sociology with Other Social
Sciences
Anthropology seeks to understand
human existence over geographic
space and evolutionary time.
Sociology seeks to understand
contemporary social organization,
relations, and change.
 Anthropology
Physical Anthropology stresses the
biological sciences and focuses on the
origins and evolutionary aspects of human
beings.
Cultural Anthropology is concerned
with the study of total societies and
includes systems, beliefs, customs,
languages, politics and many other related
topics.
Archeology
Linguistics
 Branches of Sociology
Social Organization studies
social groups, social institutions,
social stratification
Social Change the study of
change in culture and social relations
Social Psychology the study of
human nature as the outcomes of
group life personality formation,
social attitudes and collective
behavior
 Branches of Sociology
Human Ecology The study of the
behavior of a given population and
its relationship to the groups present
social institutions.
Population Studies concerned
with population number, composition,
change and quality as they influence
the economic, political, and social
system
 Branches of Sociology
Sociological Theory and Method is
concerned with listing the applicability and
usefulness of the principles of group life as
bases for the regulation of mans social
environment
Applied Sociology Applies scientific
knowledge to solve problems in various
fields of criminology, penology, social
work, education, communications,
marriage, family, etc.
Comparing Sociology with Other Social
Sciences
Social Psychology - a new field
formed by integrating Sociology and
Psychology
Psychology is the study of behavior
and mental processes - what occurs
in the mind.
Comparing Sociology with Other Social
Sciences
History the study of the
chronology of significant events,
people and places in the past
Economics the study of the
economic life of human beings and
focuses primarily on the various
dimensions of wealth such as
production, distribution and
consumption.
Comparing Sociology with Other Social
Sciences
Economists focus on economic
systems such as monetary policy,
inflation, and the national debt.
Sociologists focus on a number of
social institutions, one of which is the
economy.
Comparing Sociology with Other Social
Sciences
Political scientists concentrate on
political institutions.
Sociologists study political
institutions within the context of
other social institutions, such as
families.
Quick Quiz
1. Sociology is the systematic study
of:
a. intuition and commonsense
knowledge.
b. human society and social interaction.
c. the production, distribution, and
consumption of goods and services in
a society.
d. personality and human development.
 Answer: b
Sociology is the systematic study of
human society and social
interaction.
2. The ability to provide theory and
research beyond one's own country
enveloping countries all over the
world is known as a _____
approach.
a. global
b. developed nation
c. developing nation
d. personal awareness
 Answer: a
The ability to provide theory and
research beyond one's own country
enveloping countries all over the
world is known as a global
approach.
3. ______________ is the process by
which societies are transformed
from dependence on agriculture
and handmade products to an
emphasis on manufacturing and
related industries.
a. Urbanization
b. Globalization
c. Industrialization
d. Gentrification
e. none of these choices
 Answer: c
Industrialization is the process by
which societies are transformed
from dependence on agriculture
and handmade products to an
emphasis on manufacturing and
related industries.
4. The idea that research should be
conducted in a scientific manner
and would exclude the researchers
personal values and economic
interests was emphasized by:
a. Jane Addams.
b. Karl Marx.
c. Georg Simmel.
d. Max Weber.
 Answer: d
The idea that research should be
conducted in a scientific manner and
would exclude the researchers
personal values and economic
interests was emphasized by Max
Weber.
5. Who believed that the limits of
human potential are socially based,
not biologically based?
a. Auguste Comte
b. Harriet Martineau
c. Herbert Spencer
d. Emile Durkheim
 Answer: d
Emile Durkheim believed that the
limits of human potential are socially
based, not biologically based.
6. The early social thinker who coined
the term Sociology and his or her
philosophy became known as
positivism is:
a. Karl Marx.
b. Emile Durkheim.
c. Auguste Comte.
d. Harriet Martineau.
 Answers: c
The early social thinker who coined
the term Sociology and his or her
philosophy became known as
positivism is Auguste Comte.
 References
Colon, Salvacion. 2006. Sociology: A
Simplified Approach
Kendall, Diana. 2013. Sociology in
Our Times. 9th edition.
Omas-as, R.L. et al. 2003. General
Sociology: Society, Culture,
Population Dynamics and Gender
Development. Trinitas Publishing