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An Introduction to Sociology

Chapter 1 An Introduction to Sociology 1.1 Defining sociology


'Sociology' which had once been treated as social philosophy, or the philosophy of the history, emerged as an independent social science in 19th century. Auguste Comte, a Frenchman, is traditionally considered to be the father of sociology. Comte is accredited with the coining of the term sociology (in 1839). "Sociology" is composed of two words: socius, meaning companion or associate; and 'logos', meaning science or study. The etymological meaning of "sociology" is thus the science of society. John Stuart Mill, another social thinker and philosopher of the 19th century, proposed the word ethology for this new science. Herbert Spencer developed his systematic study of society and adopted the word "sociology" in his works. With the contributions of Spencer and others it (sociology) became the permanent name of the new science. The question 'what is sociology' is indeed, a question pertaining to the definition of sociology. No student can rightfully be expected to enter on a field of study which is totally undefined or unbounded. At the same time, it is not an easy task to set some fixed limits to a field of study. It is true in the case of sociology. Hence it is difficult to give a brief and a comprehensive definition of sociology. Sociology has been defined in a number of ways by different sociologists. No single definition has yet been accepted as completely satisfactory. In fact, there is lot of definitions of sociology as there are sociologists. For our purpose of study a few definitions may be cited here. 1. Auguste Comete, the founding father of sociology, defines sociology as the science of social phenomena "subject to natural and invariable laws, the discovery of which is the object of investigation". 2. Kingsley Davis says that "Sociology is a general science of society". 3. Harry M. Johnson opines that "sociology is the science that deals with social groups". 4. Emile Durkheim: "Science of social institutions". 5. Park regards sociology as "the science of collective behavior". 6. Small defines sociology as "the science of social relationships".
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7. Marshal Jones defines sociology as "the study of man-in-relationship-to-men". 8. Ogburn and Nimkoff: "Sociology is the scientific study of social life". 9. Franklin Henry Giddings defines sociology as "the science of social phenomena". 10. Henry Fairchild: "Sociology is the study of man and his human environment in their relations to each other". 11. Max Weber defines sociology as the science which attempts the interpretative understanding of social action in order thereby to arrive at a casual explanation of its course and effects". 12. Alex Inkeles says, "Sociology is the study of systems of social action and of their interrelations". 13. Kimball Young and Raymond W. Mack say, "Sociology is the scientific study of social aspects of human life". 14. Morris Ginsberg: of the various definitions of sociology the one given by Morris Ginsberg seems to be more satisfactory and comprehensive. He defines sociology in the following way: "In the broadest sense, sociology is the study of human interactions and interrelations, their conditions and consequences". A careful examination of various definitions cited above, makes it evident that sociologists differ in their opinion about definition of sociology. Their divergent views about the definition of sociology only reveal their distinct approaches to its study. However, the common idea underlying all the definitions mentioned above is that sociology is concerned with man, his social relations and his society.

1.2 Development of Sociology


Sociology is the youngest of the recognized social sciences. Auguste Comte in France coined the word 'sociology' in his Positive Philosophy published in 1838.He believed that a science of sociology should be based on systematic observation and classification not on authority and speculation. This was a relatively new idea at that time. Herbert Spencer in England published his Principles of Sociology in 1876. He applied the theory of organic evolution to human society and developed a grand theory of social evolution. Lester F Ward an American published his Dynamic Sociology in 1883 calling for social progress through intelligent social action which sociologists should guide. All these founders of sociology were basically social philosophers. They proclaimed that sociologists should collect, organize
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and classify factual data and derive sound social theories from these facts. While they called for scientific investigation they did relatively little of it themselves. Emile Durkheim gave the most notable early demonstration of scientific methodology in sociology. In his Rules of sociological Method published in 1895, he outlined the methodology which he pursued in his study 'Suicide' published in 1897.Instead of speculating upon the causes of suicide ,he first planned his research design and then collected a large mass of data on the characteristics of people who commit suicide and then derived a theory of suicide from these data. Courses in sociology appeared in many universities in the 1890s.The American Journal of Sociology began publication in 1895 and the American Sociological Society was organized in 1905.Whereas most of the early European sociologists came from the fields of history, political economy or philosophy many of the early American sociologists had been social workers, ministers and nearly all were from rural backgrounds. Urbanization and industrialization were creating grave social problems and these early sociologists were looking for scientific solutions. They saw sociology as a scientific guide to social progress. The early volumes of the American Journal of Sociology contained relatively few articles devoted to scientific description or research but carried many sermons filled with advice etc. By 1930s the several sociological journals were well filled with research articles and scientific descriptions. Sociology was becoming a body of scientific knowledge with its theories based upon scientific observation rather than upon impressionistic observation.

1.3 Importance of Sociology


Sociology makes a scientific study of society: Prior to the emergence of sociology the study of society was carried on in an unscientific manner and society had never been the central concern of any science. It is through the study of sociology that the truly scientific study of the society has been possible. Sociology because of its bearing upon many of the problems of the present world has assumed such a great importance that it is considered to be the best approach to all the social sciences. Sociology studies role of the institutions in the development of the individuals: It is through sociology that scientific study of the great social institutions and the relation of the individual to each is being made. The home and family ,the school and education, the church and religion, the state and government ,industry and work ,the community and association, these are institutions through which society functions. Sociology studies these institutions and their role
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in the development of the individual and suggests suitable measures for restrengthening them with a view to enable them to serve the individual better. Study of sociology is indispensable for understanding and planning of society: Society is a complex phenomenon with a multitude of intricacies. It is impossible to understand and solve its numerous problems without support of sociology. It is rightly said that we cannot understand and mend society without any knowledge of its mechanism and construction. Without the investigation carried out by sociology no real effective social planning would be possible. It helps us to determine the most efficient means for reaching the goals agreed upon. A certain amount of knowledge about society is necessary before any social policies can be carried out. Sociology is of great importance in the solution of social problems: The present world is suffering from many problems which can be solved through scientific study of the society. It is the task of sociology to study the social problems through the methods of scientific research and to find out solution to them. The scientific study of human affairs will ultimately provide the body of knowledge and principles that will enable us to control the conditions of social life and improve them. Sociology has drawn our attention to the intrinsic worth and dignity of man: Sociology has been instrumental in changing our attitude towards human beings. In a specialized society we are all limited as to the amount of the whole organization and culture that we can experience directly. We can hardly know the people of other areas intimately. In order to have insight into and appreciation of the motives by which others live and the conditions under which they exist knowledge of sociology is essential. Sociology has changed our outlook with regard to the problems of crime etc: It is through the study of sociology that our whole outlook on various aspects of crime has change. The criminals are now treated as human beings suffering from mental deficiencies and efforts are accordingly made to rehabilitate them as useful members of the society. Sociology has made great contribution to enrich human culture: Human culture has been made richer by the contribution of sociology. The social phenomenon is now understood in the light of scientific knowledge and enquiry. According to Lowie most of us harbor the comfortable delusion that our way of doing things is the only sensible if not only possible one. Sociology has given us training to have rational approach to questions concerning oneself, one's religion, customs, morals and institutions. It has further taught us to be objective, critical and dispassionate. It enables man to have better understanding both of him and of others. By comparative study of societies and groups other than his existence, his life becomes richer and
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fuller than it would otherwise be. Sociology also impresses upon us the necessity of overcoming narrow personal prejudices, ambitions and class hatred. Sociology is of great importance in the solution of international problems: The progress made by physical sciences has brought the nations of the world nearer to each other. But in the social field the world has been left behind by the revolutionary progress of the science. The world is divided politically giving rise to stress and conflict. Men have failed to bring in peace. Sociology can help us in understanding the underlying causes and tensions. The value of sociology lies in the fact that it keeps us update on modern situations: It contributes to making good citizens and finding solutions to the community problems. It adds to the knowledge of the society. It helps the individual find his relation to society. The study of social phenomena and of the ways and means of promoting what Giddens calls social adequacy is one of the most urgent needs of the modern society. Sociology has a strong appeal to all types of mind through its direct bearing upon many of the initial problems of the present world.

1.4 Scope of Sociology


There are two schools of thought with different viewpoints regarding scope and subject matter of sociology- formal school and synthetic school. According to formal school sociology was conceived to be a social science with a specifically defined field. This school had George Simmel, Ferdinand Tonnies, Alfred Vierkandt and Leopord Von Wiese as its main advocates. On the other hand the synthetic school with Durkheim, Hobhouse and Sorokin advocated a synthesis in form of coordination among all social sciences. Formal School of Sociology Formal school argued in favor of giving sociology a definite subject matter to make it a distinct discipline. It emphasized upon the study of forms of social relationships and regarded sociology as independent. According to Simmel sociology is a specific social science which describes, classifies, analyses and delineates the forms of social relationships or in other words social interactions should be classified into various forms or types and analyzed. Simmel argued that social interactions have various forms. He carried out studies of such formal relationships as cooperation, competition, sub and super ordinate relationships and so forth. He said however diverse the interests are that give rise to these sociations; the forms in which the interests are realized may yet be identical. He emphasized on the process of abstraction of these forms from human relationship which are common to diverse situations. Vierkandt maintained that sociology should be concerned with ultimate forms of mental or psychic relationship which knit the people together in a society. According to Von Wiese there are two kinds of fundamental social processes in human society. Firstly the associative process concerning contact, approach,
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adaptation etc. and secondly disassociate processes like competition and conflict. Apart from these two processes a mixed form of the associative and dissociative also exists. Each of these processes has sub-classes which in totality give approximately 650 forms of human relationships. Sociology should confine itself to the discovery of the fundamental force of change and persistence and should abstain from a historical study of concrete societies. Tonnies divided societies into two categories namely Gemeinschaft (community) and Gesellschaft (association) on the basis of degree of intimacy among the members of the society. He has on the basis of forms of relationship tried to differentiate between community and society. Max Weber also makes out a definite field for sociology. According to him the aim of sociology is to interpret or understand social behaviour. But social behavior does not cover the whole field of human relations. Indeed not all human interactions are social. Sociology is concerned with the analysis and classification of types of social relationships.

Criticism of formal School


Formal school has been criticized on the issue that it has emphasized on merely abstract forms and neglected the concrete contents of social life. Abstract forms separated from concrete relations cannot be studied. Ginsberg says that a study of social relationships would remain barren if it is conducted in the abstract without the full knowledge of the terms to which in concrete life they relate. Sociology doesn't alone study the forms of social relationship. Political science, International law also studies forms of social relationship. The conception of pure sociology is not practical as no social science can be studied in isolation from other social sciences.

Synthetic School of Sociology


Synthetic school wanted sociology to be synthesis of the social sciences and thus wanted to widen the scope of sociology. According to Durkheim, sociology has three principal divisions' namely-Social morphology, social physiology and general sociology. Social morphology is concerned with geographical or territorial basis of life of people such as population, its size, density and distribution etc. This can be done at two levels -analysis of size and quality of population which affects the quality of social relationship and social groups. Secondly the study of social structure or description of the main forms of social groups and institutions with their classification. Social physiology deals with the genesis and nature of various social institutions namely religion, morals, law and economic institutions etc. In general sociology the main aim is to formulate general social laws. Attempt is made to find out if there are links among various institutions which would be treated independently in social physiology and in the course to discover general social laws. Hobhouse perceived sociology as a science which has the whole
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social life of man as its sphere. Its relations with the other social sciences are considered to be one of mutual exchange and mutual stimulation. Karl Mannheim's divides sociology into two main sections-systematic and general sociology and historical sociology. Systematic sociology describes one by one the main factors of living together as far as they may be found in every kind of society. The historical sociology deals with the historical variety and actuality of the general forms of society. It falls into two sections-comparative sociology and social dynamics. Comparative sociology deals mainly with the historical variations of the same phenomenon and tries to find by comparison general features as separated from industrial features. Social dynamics deals with the interrelations between the various social factors and institutions in a certain given society for example in a primitive society. Ginsberg has summed up the chief functions of sociology as it seeks to provide a classification of types and forms of social relationships especially of those which have come to be defined institutions and associations. It tries to determine the relation between different parts of factors of social life for example the economic and political, the moral and the legal, the intellectual and the social elements. It endeavors to disentangle the fundamental conditions of social change and persistence and to discover sociological principles governing social life.

Conclusion
Thus on the basis of viewpoints of different sociologists we can get a general outline of the scope of sociology. Firstly the analysis of various institutions, associations and social groups which are results of social relationships of individuals should be the concern of sociology. Secondly the links among different parts of society should be studied. This objective is dealt with justice by functionalist school of sociology and Marxist school also gives importance to this viewpoint. Thus social structure should be given adequate importance in subject matter of sociology. Thirdly sociology addresses itself to the factors which contribute to social stability and social change. Fourthly sociology should also explain the trend of the changing pattern and the aftermath of the changes in the society.

1.5 Sociology and Economics


The battle as to which should be given precedence, sociology or economics, is present in these two disciplines also. However attempts have been made to link the two disciplines .One extreme position has been adopted by Marxists. According to them the understanding of the super structure consisting of various social institutions can never be complete unless seen in the context of economic substructure. Thus economic behavior of man is viewed as a key to understand social behavior of man or economics is given precedence over sociology. On the other hand sociologists have criticized the economic theory as being reductionist in nature and
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according to them the economist's conception of man ignores the role of various social factors which influence the economic behavior. Thus various sociologists have tried to show that economics cannot be an entirely autonomous science. A. Lowie considers that two sociological principles underlie the classical laws of the market: the economic man and the competition or mobility of the factors of production. A contemporary of Durkheim argues that since the first principles of economics are hypothesis they can be tested only by a sociological enquiry. In recent times Parsons and Smelser attempted to show that economic theory is a part of the general sociological theory. In actual practice there are a number of sociological studies which are concerned with problems of economic theory. Of late, the interaction between two disciplines has been on the increase. Barbara Cotton analyses the classical economic theory of Wages and presents a sociological analysis of the determinations of wages and salary differences based on British data. Sociologists have explored the aspects of economic behavior neglected or treated in a hurried manner by economists such as Marx, Max Weber and Hobson. In recent times there are many studies in the same field like those of Schimpeter, Strachey, Galbraith, Gunnar Myrdal and Raymond Aron. Apart from this contribution; sociologists have also studied particular aspects of economic organization like the property system, the division of labor and the industrial organization. A branch of sociology called economic sociology deals with the social aspects of economic life. Economics would lay emphasis on relations of purely economic variables- relations of price and supply, money flows, input-output, etc. Whereas sociology would study the productive enterprises as a social organization the supply of labor as affected by values and preferences, influences of education on economic behavior; role of caste system in economic development and so on. Thus sociology and economics meet in a number of areas of knowledge. The factors that contributed for this convergence are two. Economists are no longer interested only in market mechanism but also in economic growth, national product and national income and also development in underdeveloped regions. In all these areas the economist has either to necessarily collaborate with the sociologist or he himself has to become a sociologist.

1.6 Impact of Revolutions on Sociology


The beginning of tradition of social sciences has been one of the major developments of the 19th century. It is often said that social sciences are mostly understood as responses to the problem of order that was created in men's minds by the weakening of the old order under the blows of French Revolution and Industrial Revolution. The European society was hard hit by these revolutions. The old order that rested on kinship, land, social class, religion, local
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community and monarchy became very shaky. Thinkers were more concerned about finding ways and means of reconsolidating these elements of social order. Hence the history of 19th century politics, industry and trade is basically about the practical efforts of human beings to reconsolidate these elements. The history of 19th century meant new contents and meaning to the doctrine of sociology. A new wave of intellectual and philosophical thoughts was let loose in Europe. Intellectual currents in the form of socio-political ideologies were also witnessed. The ideologies of individualism, socialism, utilitarianism, and utopianism took birth. Thinkers and intellectuals floated new ideologies and spread novel ideas. The Bearings of World Revolutions on Origin and Growth of Sociology American war of Independence gave way to establishment of democracy in American society. Tocquaville in his book Democracy in America advocated that the growth of democracy was instrumental for the development of capitalism in America. C Wright Mills advocated that democracy is different from socialism because it reproduces the elements of an open society whereas socialism develops closed features. All these contributions necessarily indicate how the appearance of democracy in America was considered as an ideal form of governance system. Thus different notions of the world abandoning their traditional system of administration went for democracy, bureaucracy contributing for complete transformation in their structural character. The American War of Independence enormously contributed to the social changes a major area of interest of sociology. Thus it is inevitable to establish interconnectivity between American War of Independence and growth of sociology. French revolution has important bearings on growth and development of sociology. When social history looks into the reasons behind French Revolution, ideological support the revolution received from the intellectuals, middle class and lower clergy and the consequence of French revolution to its contrast, sociology looks for the ideology glorified during the revolution period offering an intellectual foundation to the growth of sociology. French revolution and Rousseau are synonymous to each other. Rousseau was a liberal and radical as well who believed that man is rational therefore he has capacity of establishing interlink age between individual will and collective will from out of which develops general will establishing organic interlink ages between individual and society. He further believes that man when driven by self-love there is a possibility of emergence of crisis in society. Therefore his self-love will be so designed that it corresponds with sympathy giving rise to harmonic union between individual and society.
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This argument of Rousseau is foundation to sociology of Comte and exclusively sociology of Durkheim. Hence it can be concluded that Rousseau s theory of general will, his explanation of equality, liberty and man as a moral savage living happily in the state of nature and inequalities as social evils directly influenced the writings of Karl Marx and Durkheim who are two founding pillars of sociology. Hence French Revolution offered an ideological support for the origin and development of sociology. Industrial Revolution was greatly instrumental in transforming the structural character of a small community focused pre-literate simple society into a diversified, technologically complex occupationally divergent highly populous modern society. Social change was driven by economic growth and industry gave rise to mass production, appropriation of surplus, profitability, class structure, growth of markets, impersonal relations between people, growing importance on laws and comprehensive change in social relationships, economic structure and interpersonal relationships between individuals. A shift from simple to complex society was considered as a disaster by the conservatives who believed that future is dark; there is no source for solace in modern society, decline of religion has given rise to moral crisis therefore purpose of life is lost. For eternal happiness man must have to get back to past. This argument developed by Mastaire and Bonald is still having profound appeal in contemporary sociology. However this conservative reaction is dismissed by rational scholars like J.S Mills who advocates that man is rational enough to distinguish between quantitative and qualitative happiness. Using their rational mind collectivity can decide in which direction the society must have to move. They give importance on liberal education, free thinking, scientific temper, the notion of collective justice and importance of law to regulate human action driving him in the direction of progress and development. Freedom to man and to his action is also emphasized by Classical Economists who advocated that man and society work together in a rational manner for the economic development of society and individuals. Thus in conclusion it can be advocated that sociology is able to establish a balance between theories and facts successfully using scientific methods to study social actions, its outcomes such as social institutions and social groups which are subjected to both continuity and change. The sociologists are using different theoretical paradigms and ideological support they have been receiving from world revolutions and renaissance. Thus it will be impossible to think about the origin of sociology in isolation to economic changes, political transformation and ideological changes that western European societies witnessed from 14th to 19th centuries. Sociology no doubt emerged as a reaction to various revolutions such as technological,social,cultural,moral,spiritual and ideological.

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An Introduction to Sociology 1.7 Fields of Sociology


A sociologist is one who has earned advanced degrees or pursued other advanced studies in sociology and is engaged in teaching, research or other professional work in the field of sociology. The careless use of the term sociologist is very common. Magzine and newspaper writers, social workers, labor leaders, government officials, social critics etc. may be described incorrectly as sociologist. Sociology concentrates its study upon the group life of human beings and the product of their group living. The sociologist is especially interested in customs, traditions and values which emerge from group living and in the way group living is in turn affected by these customs, traditions and values. Sociology is interested in the way groups interact with one another and in the processes and institutions which they develop. Sociology is subdivided into many specialized fields of which some of are:
y y y y y y y y y y y y y y y y y y y y y y y

Applied sociology Collective behavior Community Comparative sociology Crime and delinquency Cultural sociology Demography Deviant behavior Formal and complex organizations Human ecology Industrial sociology Law and society Marriage and Family Medical sociology Military sociology Political sociology Sociology of Religion Urban sociology Social psychology Social control Rural sociology Sociological theory Sociology of Education

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Sociology is only one of the social sciences and other disciplines share its interest in many topics. Its interest in communication and public opinion is shared by psychology and political science, criminology is shared with psychology, political science and law and police science. Sociology is especially close to psychology and anthropology and overlaps them constantly.

1.8 Career in Sociology


A student who becomes interested in a subject may wonder what possibilities it holds for a career. A combination of courses which constitutes an undergraduate minor or major in sociology is not in itself preparation for a professional career as a sociologist. Undergraduate majors and minors are useful mainly as background preparation for other careers. In social work the better jobs demand a graduate degree in social work and a strong post graduate degree in social work/sociology is usually recommended. In the professions like in medicine and law there is some scope for sociology as they give better perspective to the students. Secondary schools/colleges present some demand for sociology teachers. Civil Service positions often include sociology as one of the subjects for sitting in the examination. Sociologists are employed in small numbers by industry, trade, associations, labor unions, foundations and in fairly large numbers by research organizations in wide variety of positions very often in the administration and conduct of research. Newly emergent careers in many sorts of action programs have developed in recent years like training programs, foreign aid programs and in Humanitarian Organizations like UN.

1.9 The Roles of the Sociologist


Like all scientists sociologists are concerned with both collecting and using knowledge. As a scientist the sociologist's foremost task is to discover and organize knowledge about social life. A number of full time research sociologists are employed by universities, government agencies, foundations or corporations and many sociologists divide their time between teaching and research. Another task of the sociologist as a scientist is to clear away the misinformation and superstition which clutters so much of our social thinking. Sociologists have helped to clear doubts about hereditary, race, class, sex differences, deviation and nearly every other aspect of behavior. By helping replace superstition and misinformation with accurate knowledge about human behavior sociologists are performing their most important role. Sociologists make sociological predictions. Every policy decision is based upon certain assumptions about the present and future state of the society. Most social science prediction consists not of predicting specific developments as the astronomer predicts an
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eclipse but of forecasting the general pattern of trends and changes which seem most probable. All such predictions or forecasts should be offered with certain humility for no certainty attends them. Instead social scientists offer them as the best most informed guesses available upon which to base our policy decisions and expectations for the future. Sociological prediction can also help to estimate the probable effects of a social policy. Every social policy decision is a prediction. A policy is begun in the hope that it will produce a desired effect. Policies have often failed because they embodied unsound assumptions and predictions. Sociologists can help to predict the effects of a policy and thus contribute to the selection of policies which achieve the intended purposes. For example what effect does dropping out of high school have upon a youth's future earnings? One of the greatest services any scholarly group can offer is to show the society what policies are most likely to work in achieving its objectives. Some sociologists are engaged in planning and conducting community action programs advising on public relations, employee relations, working on human relations problems etc. Often these sociologists have specialized in social psychology, industrial sociology, urban or rural sociology or the sociology of complex organizations. The term clinical sociologist has appeared to describe the work of the sociologist as technician. To some extent this is a new name for what sociologists have been doing for a long time but it also includes a considerable broadening of the range of sociologists' efforts to be useful in society. In such positions the sociologist is working as an applied scientist. He or she has been engaged to use scientific knowledge in pursuing certain values - a harmonious and efficient working force an attractive public image of the industry or an effective community action program. Teaching is the major career of many sociologists. In addition to the concerns and problems of teaching in any field, the problem of value neutrality versus value commitment is a particularly acute question. The ethics of university teaching have demanded that the teacher refrain from all conscious indoctrination but it is debatable. Scientists seek to discover knowledge but should they tell the society how this knowledge should be used? The basic question is whether science specifically sociology should be value-free. For example sociologists know some things about population growth, race relations, urban development and many other matters involving questions of public policy. Early sociologists gave support to all sorts of public policies they believed in. Between 1920 and 1940 many sociologists shifted to the view that sociology should be a more nearly pure science discovering knowledge but not attempting to decree how it should be used. They sought to build sociology on the model of physics as a value-free science. As such it should be committed to no values except those of free scientific inquiry. Sociologists generally avoided involvement in controversial issues and sought the status of pure social scientists. This view has been challenged in both physical and social science. Many
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sociologists today believe that sociologists should claim a major role in making decisions about public policy and should involve themselves in the major issues of our society. They feel that not only do sociologists have a duty to say what society might do about problems of race conflict, population growth, birth control, drug addiction, divorce etc. but the sociologists should say what society should do about such problems. Sociologists have agreed upon some of the propositions: Sociologists should show the relationships between values. If we wish to clean up polluted rivers we must be prepared to spend a lot of tax money in doing so. Sociologists may clarify what value sacrifices must be made if we wish to attain certain other values. A sociologist as an individual may properly make value judgments, support causes and join reform movements like any other citizen. As a scientist the sociologist may not know whether television violence is harmful to children and therefore might not make public recommendations but as a parent will make a decision according to the personal beliefs and values. Beyond this there is no complete agreement among sociologists concerning what role they should assume. Most sociologists have some firm opinions on what policies society should follow and are in considerable agreement with one another upon many of these policies.

1.10 The use of concepts in sociology


Every field of study makes the student memorize many words to which the field attaches special meanings. It is done because precise concepts are necessary. First we need carefully expressed concepts to carry on a scientific discussion. The sociological concepts are necessary for a clear discussion of social phenomena. The formulation of concepts leads to increased knowledge. Some accurate descriptive knowledge must be organized before a concept is framed. Then the analysis and criticism of this new concept point up the gaps and errors in present knowledge. Use of the concept often calls attention to the facts and relationships which may have been overlooked. While studying migration Park framed the concept of the marginal man who is on the fringes of two groups or two ways of life while fully belonging to neither. The use of this concept quickly led to the recognition that there were many kinds of marginal persons- the persons of mixed racial ancestry who belongs clearly to neither race, the supervisor who is clearly either management or labor the ambitious climber no longer in the lower class yet not securely a middle class person and many others. Concepts like marginality lead to increased knowledge. Concepts are useful as verbal shorthand. The term control group replaces an entire sentence. Every discipline develops concepts as time savers. Most of the concepts of sociology are expressed in words which also have a popular meaning. Every science
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appropriates some common words and makes them into scientific concepts by giving them a specific definition and sociology is no exception.

1.11 Pure and Applied Sociology


A distinction between pure and applied science is drawn in every scientific field. Pure science is a search for knowledge, without primary concern for its practical use. Applied science is the search for ways of using scientific knowledge to solve practical problems. A sociologist making a study of the social structure of a slum neighborhood is working as a pure scientist if this is followed by a study of how to prevent delinquency in a slum neighborhood this is applied science. Practical applications of sociological knowledge have become quite common. Sociologists are employed by corporations, government bureaus and social agencies often in evaluation research but sometimes in administration. Sociologists are often consulted by legislative committees in preparing new legislation. While the political clout of opposing interest groups may be the prime determinant of social policy decisions, the policy recommendations of social scientists are a significant factor in the legislative process.

1.12 Popular Sociology


A great deal of sociological material reaches print through people who are not sociologists. The popular magazines are full of articles on crime, family life, education and social class -practically every sociological topic. This is a popular sociology-treatment of sociological topics usually by writers without much formal sociological training and aimed at a popular audience. Popular sociology deals with the topics which are descriptively inaccurate with a total lack of the interpretative analysis which would fit the facts into a relevant social context. At the opposite pole are many writers who do a good job of popularizing sociological findings. Pop Sociology often contains inaccuracies and instances of misplaced emphasis doubtful interpretation, oversimplification and too sweeping generalization. Yet it is likely that popular understanding of sociological topics has been increased by such writers. Sociologists write for the scholarly audience while journalists popularize sociology more or less accurately for the public.

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An Introduction to Sociology 1.13 Branches of Sociology


Sociology is broadly defined as the study of human society. Society is vast and complex phenomenon and therefore it is generally debatable that which part of society should be studied by sociology. There is a great degree of difference of opinion regarding the definitions, scope and subject matter of sociology. According to Durkheim sociology has broadly three principal divisions which he terms as social morphology, social physiology and general sociology. Social morphology covers the geographical settings, the density of population and other preliminary data which is likely to influence the social aspects. Social physiology is concerned with such dynamics processes as religion, morals, law, economic and political aspects, each of which may be the subject matter of a special discipline. General sociology is an attempt to discover the general social laws which may be derived from the specialized social processes. This is considered by Durkheim as the philosophical part of sociology. Max Weber combines two schools of thought i.e. historical and systematic and he adds something more. His analysis with regard to relations between economics and religion enables him to use both historical as well as systematic method. The sociologies of law, economics and religion are the special sociologies which are part of both systematic and historical methods of study. According to Sorokin, Sociology can be divided into two branches- General Sociology and special sociology. General sociology studies the properties and uniformities common to all social and cultural phenomena in their structural and dynamic aspects. The inter-relationships between the socio-cultural and biological phenomena. In the structural aspect sociology studies various types of groups and institutions as well as their inter-relations to one another. In the dynamic aspect sociology studies various social processes like social contact, interaction, socialization, conflict, domination, subordination etc. Special sociologies study a specific sociocultural phenomenon which is selected for detailed study. According to Sorokin, some of the most developed sociologies are Sociology of population, rural sociology, sociology of law, sociology of religion, sociology of knowledge, sociology of fine arts and many others. Ginsberg has listed the problems of sociology under four aspects- social morphology, social control, social processes and social pathology. Social morphology includes investigation of the quantity and quality of population, the study of social structure or the description and classification of the principal types of social groups and institutions. Social control includes the study of law, morals, religion, conventions, fashions and other sustaining and regulating agencies. Social processes refer to the study of various modes of interactions between
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An Introduction to Sociology
individuals or groups including cooperation and conflict, social differentiation and integration, development and decay. Social pathology refers to the study of social maladjustments and disturbances. Raymond Aron has mentioned six schools in sociology. These are historical, formal, society and community, phenomenological, universalistic and general. Sorokin has referred to the main currents of recent sociological thoughts in the following four branches of sociology-cosmo-sociology, bio-sociology, general sociology and special sociologies. Sociology of Religion studies the church as a social institution inquiring into its origin, development and forms as well as into changes in its structure and function. Sociology of Education studies the objectives of the school as a social institution, its curriculum and extracurricular activities and its relationship to the community and its other institutions. Political sociology studies the social implications of various types of political movements and ideologies and the origin, development and functions of the government and the state. Sociology of law concerns itself with formalized social control or with the processes whereby members of a group achieve uniformity in their behavior through the rules and regulations imposed upon them by society. It inquiries into the factors that bring about the formation of regulatory systems as well as into the reasons for their adequacies and inadequacies as a means of control. Social psychology seeks to understand human motivation and behavior as they are determined by society and its values. It studies the socialization process of the individual how he becomes a member of society- it also studies the public, crowd, the mob and various other social groupings and movements. Analysis of mass persuasion or propaganda and of public opinion has been one of its major interests. Social psychiatry deals with the relationships between social and personal disorganization, its general hypothesis being that society through its excessive and conflicting demands upon the individual is to a large extent responsible for personal maladjustments such as various types of mental disorder and antisocial behavior. In its applied aspects it is concerned with remedying this situation. Social disorganization deals with the problems of maladjustment and malfunctioning, including problems of crime and delinquency, poverty and dependency, population movements, physical

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An Introduction to Sociology
and mental disease and vice. Of these sub-divisions crime and delinquency have received perhaps the greatest attention and have developed into the distinct fields of criminology. Group relations are concerned with studying the problems arising out of the co-existence in a community of diverse racial and ethics groups. New areas and sub-areas of sociology are continuously evolving over the period of time.

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