Internal
Links

Top
 Review Notes on   TM  1:  The Early Years of Sociology
External
Links
  Syllabus
Link
 
 Course Outline & Reviews List
Link
  Review Questions for TM 1:  The Early Years of Sociology
Link
  Resources
Link
 
Outine on TM 1:  The Early Years of Sociology
  
Link
 Paradigms  
Link
       Paradigms & Social Theory  
Link
 Intro to Methods  
Link
       Social Laws  
Link
       The Development of Sociology  
Link
 The Enlightenment  
Link
        The French Revolution   
 
 Early Sociologists   
Link
       Saint Simon               1760 - 1825  
Link
       August Comte         1798 - 1857  
Link
       Karl Marx                 1818 - 1883  
Link
       Emile Durkheim       1858 - 1917  
Link
       Max Weber              1864 - 1920  

 
Internal
Links

Top
Outline on  Paradigms: Shifting & Competing
Internal
Links
  -  Project: Paradigms 
Link
  -  Video:  Sociological Perspectives 
Link
  INTRODUCTION: THE SCIENTIFIC CULTURE OFTEN ACTS AS IF THERE ARE NO ANOMALIES   
 
 The scientific culture often acts as if there are no anomalies   
  The values / beliefs of science include the ideas that: 
a.  there is progress 
b.  science is cumulative, "brick by brick" we construct science base upon agreed on facts 		  
  Theories are the infrastructure, But people are working on different buildings, i.e. paradigms   
  And all the bricks (facts) must be used   
  Facts that do not fit a theory are called anomalies   
  All theories have anomalies:  i.e. they cannot explain everything   
  The scientific culture often acts as if there are no anomalies   
  A PARADIGM IS A SET OF THEORIES   
  Paradigms are sets of theories & assumptions that shape & underlie explanations, especially scientific explanations, including the general images & assumptions of reality which shape those theories   
  A paradigm is a set of assumptions that shape and underlie explanations of why society is the way it is   
  A paradigm or perspective can be defined as an overall approach or viewpoint toward a subject which includes the following aspects:   
  a.  a set of questions to be asked about the subject   
  b.  a general theoretical approach explaining the nature of the subject   
  c.  a set of values relating to the subject   
  d.  a set of theories concerning a common theme   
  There are many ways to understand something / reality, including common sense, religion, tradition / authority, emotion, & science and different paradigms generally have a focus utilizing one or two of these ways of understanding   
  PARADIGMS COMPETE W/ EACH OTHER -- TO ESTABLISH 'TRUTH'   
  Competing paradigms often shape & represent the competition of ideas within or between societies   
  Astronomy: collapsing universe vs. expanding universe 
Paleontology:  great comet vs. predation cold blooded vs warm blooded dinosaurs 
Biology:  Darwinians vs. evolutionary shock 
Sociology:  Functionalism vs. Conflict Theory     vs. Symbolic Interactionism 		  
  PARADIGM SHIFTS OCCUR AS PARADIGMS 'WIN OR LOSE' & A NEW 'TRUTH IS ESTABLISHED'   
  Paradigm shifts occur when large groups, segments of societies, or societies see the old in a new light & see new things, period   
  Examples: 
- world views changed from geo centric to helio centric 
- polytheism to monotheism 
- flat to round world 
- earth centric to helio centric 
- magic to science 
- demons to mental illness 
- creationism to evolution 
- Newtonian physics to Einsteinian physics 		  
  Paradigms are also known as perspectives, schools, school of thought, etc.   
  Science does not embrace "one truth" because human truth is always contested & relative, rather, what is true is constantly changing, but we act as if science is one truth   
  Because there is no absolute truth, & because people have competing ideas on what  is closest to truth, we have paradigms   
Link
 Chart on Paradigms, Theories, Laws, & Disciplines   
 
 Sociology is a multiple paradigm science:  functionalism, conflict theory, symbolic interactionism 
 
  Theories & paradigms provide a conceptual formulation that provides a logical explanation or framework for all the facts, i.e. the objective info gained through observation & experiment   
  Theories must be validated in the same way that a hypothesis is validated   
  SCIENTIFIC LAWS ARE FOUND W/IN FEW PARADIGMS   
  Paradigms & laws are not validated in the way that theories & hypotheses are validated   
  Paradigms & laws are validated when the consensus of the scientific community, when the preponderance of theoretical evidence supports them   
  While a single experiment or piece of evidence may serve to validate a theory of hypothesis, it takes evidence, theoretical validation, & the consensus of the scientific community to validate a paradigm or law   
  NATURAL LAWS APPEAR TO HAVE NO ANOMALIES   
  Basic principles or natural laws are theories that stand out as precisely predictable with no known exceptions:  gravity, laws of thermodynamics, etc.   
  There seems to be only tenuous/contentious theories in the social sciences, but also in some physical sciences such as env science   
  Principles or laws are limited to those of chemistry, physics, etc.   
 
 FOR KUHN, PARADIGMS SHIFTS ARE 'SCIENTIFIC REVOLUTIONS' THAT CHANGE PERCEPTIONS OF REALITY   
  Thomas Kuhn wrote about paradigm shifts wherein a veritable scientific rev occurs that essentially deposes an old paradigm, such as Newtonian physics, & replaces it w/ a new one, i.e. Einsteinian physics   
  Kuhn wrote The Structure of Scientific Revolutions, 1962, in which he held that new paradigms displace old paradigms altering our significant portions of truth as defined by science, & possibly the general populations view of everyday existence   
  See Also:  The Structure of Scientific Revolutions   
  A paradigm shift is a new set of theories that comes along & explains all facts to a superior degree, displacing the old paradigm   
  An example of a paradigm shift is seen in where Einsteinian physics replaced Newtonian Physics because it could explained nuclear fission better & other anomalies better   
  As of the present there have been no paradigm shifts in the social sciences nor in some newer physical sciences such as ecology, though each has multiple, competing paradigms   

 
Top  
Chart on Paradigms, Theories, Laws, Disciplines
Paradigm
Set of theoretical assumptions that shape & underlie explanations of why society/the world is the way it is
Examples: 
The Expanding Universe 
Functionalism
Theory
Explanation of cause & effects that encompasses relationships btwn 2 or more facts 
Examples: 
Suicide is caused by isolation/lack of integration 
Racism is taught/learned 
Crime is caused by frustrated expectations 
Poverty is caused by the concentration of wealth
Law
Theory or part of a theory that is well established & therefore has greater acceptance by the scientific community 
There are no laws in the social sciences 
Examples: 
Nothing can move faster than light 
To every action, there is an equal & opposite reaction
Discipline A recognized area of academic exploration 
Examples: 
sociology 
biology 
literature

 
Internal
Links

Top
 Outline on  Paradigms & Social Theory
External
Links
  -  Project:  Multi Paradigmatic Analysis 
Link
  THEORIES ARE SETS OF EXPLANATIONS  
  A theory is an explanation of cause & effects that encompasses relationships btwn 2 or more facts   
  A theory is a set of interrelated statements about reality, usually involving one or more cause effect relationships  
  Theories are made up of verifiable statements about reality that, with the right information, can be tested  
  Ideally, a theory can be tested through research  
  PARADIGMS ARE SETS OF THEORIES   
  Paradigms are sets of theories & assumptions that shape & underlie explanations, especially scientific explanations, including the general images & assumptions of reality which shape those theories
 
  A paradigm is a set of assumptions that shape and underlie explanations of why society is the way it is
 
  While theories can be tested & either verified or dismissed, paradigms can neither be tested or verified & this their existence may rely on science as well as tradition  
  A paradigm or perspective can be defined as an overall approach or viewpoint toward a subject which includes the following aspects:
 
  a.  a set of questions to be asked about the subject
 
  b.  a general theoretical approach explaining the nature of the subject
 
  c.  a set of values relating to the subject
 
  d.  a set of theories concerning a common theme
 
  There are many ways to understand something / reality, including common sense, religion, tradition / authority, emotion, & science and different paradigms generally have a focus utilizing one or two of these ways of understanding
 
  Competing paradigms often shape & represent the competition of ideas within or between societies
 
  Paradigm shifts occur when large groups, segments of societies, or societies see the old in a new light & see new things, period
 
  In relation to sociological theory, paradigms are general images & assumptions of reality which shape theory
 
  THE STRUCTURAL FUNCTIONAL PARADIGM FOCUSES ON COOPERATIVE ASPECTS OF SOCIETY   
  Structural functionalism (S-F), conflict theory, & symbolic interactionism shape their paradigmatic image by focusing on 'How is social order possible?' which was an important question for social scientists & philosophers in the transition from the traditional to the modern era, i.e. in the 1600s & later
 
  The paradigm of S-F was developed by Durkheim, then the Chicago School, then by Parsons & Merton, & continues to evolve today
 
  The paradigm of S-F is a general theoretical approach that develops a set of questions, values, & theories on:
 
  a.  the consensus on norms & values  
  b.  the processes & outcomes of socialization  
  c.  a biological, systemic & holistic view of society  
  d.  social systems & their needs & functions  
  THE CONFLICT THEORY PARADIGM FOCUSES ON COMPETITIVE ASPECTS OF SOCIETY   
  The paradigm of conflict theory was developed by Marx, then Mills, then Dahrendorf, & continues to evolve today  
 
 The paradigm of conflict theory is a general theoretical approach that develops a set of questions, values, & theories on the:  
  a.  conflicting values in society which yields a societal discensus  
  b.  development & outcome of false consciousness which results from socialization as shaped by societal power struggles & biases  
  c.  competition among grps, esp btwn & w/in classes  
  d.  domination of the upper classes & general grp over individual needs  
  THE SYMBOLIC INTERACTIONIST PARADIGM FOCUSES ON INDIVIDUALS' CONSTRUCTION OF SOCIETY   
  The paradigm of symbolic interactionism was developed by Mead, then Cooley, then Blumer, & continues to evolve today  
  The paradigm of conflict theory is a general theoretical approach that develops a set of questions, values, & theories on the:  
  a.  social construction of the self, identity, ideology, etc.  
  b.  aggregation of the social construction of the self which creates the social construction of reality, & thus society  
  c.  interaction of the processes & outcomes of the social construction of the self & reality  
  WEALTH, POWER ETC. IS A CENTRAL PART OF SOME BUT NOT ALL SOCIAL SCIENCE PARADIGMS   
  Wealth, power, etc. is a central part of many, but not all of the paradigms in the social sciences  
  Thus wealth, power, etc. is  included in the classification of theories below in addition to several other values  
  Because there is no clear consensus on values, scientific or otherwise, in the social sciences, any given set of values & structures used to classify theories is simply one example of a process of theoretical classification & cannot be considered a universal or comprehensive classification  
  Thus, no universal classification of social theory will  be possible until there is more harmony among competing paradigms & until the social sciences develop into a more exact science  
 
 Historically, wealth & stratification have been heralded & chastised  
  Many ancient religions denounce wealth & stratification while many do not discuss it  
  In the Old Testament, Amos, Micah, Isaiah denounce wealth  
  Aristotle believed that wealth & stratification represented the natural order  
  In the Age of the Enlightenment, 17th - 18th Century, Locke, Rousseau, Monte & others believed that the concentration of wealth was at the least, a social problem, & at worst, the root of most social conflict  
  Early Sociologists  Saint Simon, Comte, Bonald, and Maistre recognized wealth & stratification as an important to understanding society but they had inconsistent positions on its inevitability  
  Sociology is generally made up of three paradigms:  Functionalism, Conflict Theory & Symbolic Interactionism  
  One fundamental question  is frequently asked by all paradigms: How is social order possible?  Stratification is one answer  
 
 In light of the 3 sociological paradigms, we ask, how does stratification & injustice occur?   
  Paradigms embrace Value Sets that allow their classification as either Critics or Apologists of modern, industrial, stratified society which result in their viewing society as exhibiting either a Critical Culture or an Uncritical Culture  
 
 Paradigms embrace Social Structures that allow their classification into either seeing society as primarily operating on the basis of Conflict or Order ( Cooperation ) Structure which means they view society as exhibiting either a Conflict Structure or a Cooperative Structure  
Link
 Table:  Value & Model Assumptions in Social Science Paradigms  
Link
 Table:  A Typology of Paradigms  
Link
 THE CRITICAL CULTURE / ORDER STRUCTURE PARADIGM FOCUSES ON 
THE POWER OF CULTURE & COOPERATIVE SOCIAL STRUCTURES		  
  Cell 1:  Critical Culture Order Structure Paradigm combines the Critical Value assumptions or CULTURE w/ an Order/Cooperative Model of society or STRUCTURE  
  The Critical Order Paradigm views society as exhibiting Critical Culture & a Cooperative Structure  
  No modern school is associated w/ the Critical Order Paradigm  
  The Critical -Order Paradigm  of Maistre & Bonald opposed the Enlightenment ideals & viewed society as a whole  
 
 1.  Unjust inequality ( stratification ) is not inevitable ( at least not to the present degree )  
  The appearance of the inevitability of stratification comes from the fact that all of history has witnessed stratification  
  But stratification did not exist in Hunter - Gatherer Society & it does not exist at high levels in all societies  
 
 2.  There is an optimistic view of human nature based on theory, history & anthropology  
  Recently Humanistic Psychology has supported an optimistic view of human nature w/ its view of the higher nature or needs of individuals  
 
 3.  Better, more just societies are the goals of the social sciences  
  Failure to act, or the belief that the current order of things is natural, is merely support for the status quo  
  The social sciences should be activist & try & change the world  
  The downside of social scientists being activist is that science itself is a neutral weapon & could be used for good or ill  
 
 4.  Society is held together by a consensus of norms & values  
 
 There is no conflict of ideology or interests  
 
 5.  There is a holistic view of society  
 
 Thus we have equal influence for both the economy or base & the culture  
 
 Status is often seen as more important than class or income  
 
 Thus income is determined by the prestige of a position  
 
 6.  There is a focus on a social system w/ needs of its own & thus the conflict that does occur is bad for the system  
  The needs of society supersede the needs of individuals  
  Thus some people must be at the bottom of the hierarchy & a few at the top  
Link
 THE APOLOGIST CULTURE / ORDER STRUCTURE PARADIGM FOCUSES ON 
NON POWER ORIENTED CULTURE & COOPERATIVE ASPECTS OF STRUCTURES 		  
 
 Cell 2:  The Apologist Culture Order Structure Paradigm combines apologetic (uncritical) value assumptions ( little or no criticism of the status quo ) or CULTURE w/ an Order/Cooperative Model of society or STRUCTURE  
  The Apologist (Uncritical) - Order Paradigm combines an Uncritical Culture & a Cooperative Structure  
 
 1. Stratification ( i.e. unjust inequality ) is inevitable because
    (a) human nature is selfish 
    (b) it necessary for social system, i.e. a quality of the system		  
 
 Stratification cannot be optional since it has always existed & because any features that exist in society must be functional
 
 
 2.  The distrust of human nature is based on analyses of theory, history & anthropology  
 
 Freudian psychology also supports the idea of our animal human nature, that must be controlled by society  
 
 3.  There are no goals for social analysis because the social sciences are value free  
 
 Thus the social sciences are merely to report & describe the functioning of society & not work to or advocate change  
 
 To advocate change is to exhibit the ultimate hubris or self serving pride in thinking that 'I know what is best for society'  
 
 4.  Society is held together by a consensus of norms & values  
  There is no conflict of ideology or interests  
 
 5.  There is a holistic view of society  
  Thus we have equal influence for both the economy or base & the culture  
  Status is often seen as more important than class or income  
  Thus income is determined by the prestige of a position  
 
 6.  There is a focus on a social system w/ needs of its own & thus the conflict that does occur is bad for the system  
  The needs of society supersede the needs of individuals  
  Thus some people must be at the bottom of the hierarchy & a few at the top  
Link
 THE CRITICAL CULTURE / CONFLICT STRUCTURE PARADIGM FOCUSES ON 
POWER IN CULTURE & COMPETITIVE SOCIAL STRUCTURES 		  
  Cell 3:  The Critical Culture Conflict Structure Paradigm embodies a Critical analysis of value assumptions or CULTURE & a Conflict based analysis of the operation of society or STRUCTURE  
  The Critical - Conflict Paradigm embodies a Critical Culture & a Conflict Structure  
  This paradigm is commonly associated w/ Marx -> Mills -> Dahrendorf  
  This characterization is typically associated w/ Conflict Theory  
 
 1.  Unjust inequality ( stratification ) is not inevitable ( at least not to the present degree )  
  The appearance of the inevitability of stratification comes from the fact that all of history has witnessed stratification  
  But stratification did not exist in H - G Society & it does not exist at high levels in all societies  
 
 2.  There is an optimistic view of human nature based on theory, history & anthropology  
 
 Recently Humanistic Psychology has supported this view w/ its view of the higher nature or needs of individuals  
 
 3.  Better, more just societies are the goals of the social sciences  
  Failure to act or the belief that was is is natural is merely support for the status quo  
  The social sciences should be activist & try & change the world  
  The downside of this is that science itself is a neutral weapon & could be used for good or ill  
 
 4.  Society is held together by conflict & power, & not a consensus of norms & values  
  The consensus is an illusion or is itself the result of ideology, i.e. world views imposed by the elites control of education, the media etc.  
 
 5.  There is a focus on the parts & processes w/in a society, & not society as a whole, where all structures have equal influence  
  Understanding the economy & its impact on all the other social structures & culture is key to understanding how society operates  
 
 6.  Society is a setting for struggles btwn classes or interest groups  
  Society may operate as a system w/ needs of its own, but when those needs are controlled by a group of elites then society becomes a setting for struggles btwn classes or interest groups   
Link
 THE APOLOGIST CULTURE / CONFLICT STRUCTURE FOCUSES ON 
NON POWER ORIENTED CULTURE & COMPETITIVE SOCIAL STRUCTURES 		  
 
 Cell 4:  The Apologist Culture Conflict Structure embodies an Apologist, or uncritical analysis of value assumptions or CULTURE & a Conflict based analysis of the operation of society or STRUCTURE  
  The Apologist (Uncritical) - Conflict Paradigm embodies an Uncritical Culture & a Conflict Structure
 
  Weberian theory is commonly associated w/ this paradigm
 
  1. Stratification ( i.e. unjust inequality ) is inevitable because
    (a) human nature is selfish 
    (b) it necessary for social system, i.e. a quality of the system		  
  Stratification cannot be optional since it has always existed & because any features that exist in society must be functional
 
  Stratification cannot be optional since it has always existed & because any features that exist in society must be functional
 
  2.  The distrust of human nature based on analysis of theory, history & anthropology
 
  Freudian Psychology also supports the idea of our animal human nature, that must be controlled by society
 
  3.  There are no goals for social analysis because the social sciences are value free
 
  Thus the social sciences are merely to report & describe the functioning of society & not work to or advocate change
 
  To advocate change is to exhibit the ultimate hubris or self serving pride in thinking that 'I know what is best for society'
 
  4.  Society is held together by conflict & power, & not a consensus of norms & values
 
  The consensus is an illusion or is itself the result of ideology, i.e. world views imposed by the elites control of education, the media etc.
 
  5.  There is a focus on the parts & processes w/in a society, & not society as a whole, where all structures have equal influence
 
  Understanding the economy & its impact on all the other social structures & culture is key to understanding how society operates
 
  6.  Society is a setting for struggles btwn classes or interest groups
 
  Society may operate as a system w/ needs of its own, but when those needs are controlled by a group of elites then society becomes a setting for struggles btwn classes or interest groups  
  See Also:  Early American Stratification Theory:  the Lynds & Warner
 
  See Also:  Occupational Prestige
 
  Functional Theory is often traced from Durkheim to the Chicago School to Parsons & Merton
 
  Conflict Theory is often traced from Marx to Mills to Dahrendorf  
  Weberian Theory straddles several issues of concern to both functionalism & conflict theory  

 
Top
  
Table: Value & Model Assumptions in Social Science Paradigms
Kerbo0404
Value Assumptions  on  CULTURE
Critical CULTURE
    Views culture as exerting / expressing power in society
1.  Inequality is not inevitable ( at least not to the present degree )
2.  There is an optimistic view of human nature
3.  Better, more just, societies are the goals of the social sciences
Apologist ( Uncritical ) CULTURE
     Views culture as an epiphenomenom, i.e. cannot exert or express power in society 
1.  Inequality is inevitable ( "natural" )
2.  There is a distrust of human nature
3.  No goals:  sociology should be value free
Model Assumptions on STRUCTURE
Conflict STRUCTURE
     Views structure as a terrain of conflict through which groups compete
1.  Society is held together by conflict & unequal power
2.  Focus on parts & processes w/in the society
3.  Society is a setting for struggles btwn classes or interest groups
Order ( Cooperation ) STRUCTURE
      View structure as a mechanism through which social goals are cooperatively accomplished
1.  Society is held together by consensus of norms & values
2.  Holistic view of society
3.  Focus on a social system w/ needs of its own

 
Top
  
Table:  A Typology of Paradigms
Kerbo0404
 Model of Society: 
STRUCTURE           \/
Value Assumptions on CULTURE
 
Critical
Apologist
Cooperation
 1.  Critical Culture Order Structure  Paradigm 2.  Apologist Culture Order Structure Paradigm
  Focuses on the power of culture & cooperative social structures  Focuses on non power oriented culture & cooperative aspects of structures 
 
 No modern theory is associated w/ this Paradigm Functional Theory (Durkheim, Parsons)
 
Conflict
 3.  Critical Culture Conflict Structure Paradigm 4.  Apologist Culture Conflict Structure  Paradigm
  Focuses on the power of culture & competitive social structures  Focuses on non power oriented culture & competitive social structures 
 
 Ruling Class Theory (Marxism) Power Conflict Theory (Weber)
Post Modernist Paradigms focus on the power of culture ( Critical Culture Paradigm), but deny that any structure exists ( contra the Order Structure Paradigm & the Conflict Structure Paradigm )
Kerbo0404 Source:  Adapted from Hermann Strasser (1976) 
The Normative Structure of Sociology:  Conservative & Emancipatory Themes in Social Thought.  London:  Routledge & Kegan Paul.

 
Internal
Links

Top
  An Introduction to   Methods: How the Social Sciences are Done
External
Links
 
 -  Project:  Surveying
Link
  For Macionis, there are 3 types of methods in the social sciences including scientific methods, critical methods, & interpretative methods; however in practice most social scientist employ many of these types simultaneously  
  THE SCIENTIFIC METHOD IS AN APPROACH TO UNDERSTANDING BASED ON SYSTEMATIC OBSERVATION & GENERALIZATION, WHICH IS USED TO GENERATE EXPLANATIONS & MAKE PREDICTIONS   
  Science is a logical system that bases knowledge on direct, systematic observation.   
  Scientific knowledge is based on empirical evidence, meaning facts  we verify with our senses  
  Scientific methods of the social sciences are the most widely used & are what we are using when we speak of hypothesis, theories, statistics, validity, etc.  
  THE INTERPRETATIVE METHOD  IS AN APPROACH TO UNDERSTANDING BASED ON SYSTEMATIC OBSERVATION & GENERALIZATION, WHICH IS USED TO UNDERSTAND THE MEANINGS PEOPLE EXPERIENCE   
  For many social scientists, science as it is practiced today to study the natural world, misses a vital part of the social world: meaning  
  Human beings do not simply act; we engage in meaningful action  
  Weber, who pioneered this framework, argued that the focus of sociology is interpretation  
  See Also:  Weber  
  Interpretative sociology is the study of society that focuses on the meanings people attach to their social world  
  The interpretative sociologist's job is not just to observe what people do but to share in their world of meaning & come to appreciate why they act as they do  
  CRITICAL SOCIOLOGY FOCUSES ON WHAT IS IN ORDER TO UNDERSTAND & EXERCISE SOCIAL CHANGE   
  The importance of social change in & of itself became noteworthy by Marx who rejected the idea that society exists as  a "natural" system w/ a fixed order  
  Critical sociology is the study of society that focuses on the need for social change  
  As Marx believed the point of the social sciences are not merely to study the world as it is but to change it  
  W/in the practice of critical methods, the general public often confuses social science findings w/ politics & so scientific social scientists object to taking sides, charging that critical social science is political & gives up any claim to objectivity  
  Critical methodologists would refute the objections of the so called scientific social scientists by noting that not only is critical social science political, but ALL science, whether it be natural or social, is political  
  METHODOLOGICAL CONCEPTS ARE TOOLS FOR SCIENTIFIC EXPLORATION   
  The deductive method of analysis begins w/ theory & builds a question ( hypothesis ) based on that theory  
  The hypothesis is usually tested using some form of the experimental method to test some part of the theory  
  The inductive method of analysis begins w/ gathering generalizations from data, & theory is then created to explain the generalizations  
  Research can be used to test a theory or generate a theory, but research cannot "find out the truth"  
  A theory is a set of interrelated statements about reality, usually involving one or more cause effect relationships  
  Theories are made up of verifiable statements about reality that, with the right information, can be tested  
  Theory refers to a set of interrelated statements about reality, usually involving one or more major cause effect relationships  
  Ideally, a theory can be tested through research  
  A law is a theory or part of a theory that is well established and therefore has greater acceptance by the scientific community  
  A hypothesis is a research question, that always takes the form of a statement that must be able to be disproved  
  A hypothesis is a testable statement  
  When social scientists use research for theory testing, they usually make use of a hypothesis  
  A hypothesis always takes the form of a statement  
  A hypothesis usually involves some kind of cause effect relationship between two or more variables  
  A hypothesis is used because a theory is usually too large and complex to test at one time  
  A correlation is a relationship by which two or more variables change together  
 
 A concept is an abstract idea that represents some element of the world  
Link
 A variable is a concept that can take on different values or that has two or more categories from case to case  
Link
 Independent variables influence or cause the dependent variable & are sometimes called the predictor variable  
  The independent variable is the variable that the researcher thinks is the cause  
Link
 Dependent variables should be the effect in the cause effect relationship  
  The value of the dependent variable depends on the value of the independent variable  
Link
 A positive correlation occurs when both variables change in the same direction  
  A negative correlation occurs when the variables change in opposite directions  
  A control variable is a variable that is held constant in order to observe the effect on two or more other variable  
  A spurious correlation is an apparent, although false, relationship btwn two or more variables caused by some other variable(s)  
  The control variable  is introduced to determine whether the relationship btwn the independent & dependent variables is spurious   
  MEASUREMENT IS THE PROCESS OF ASCERTAINING THE EXTENT, DIMENSIONS, 
QUANTITY, ETC. OF SOMETHING ESP BY COMPARISON TO A STANDARD 		  
  1.  An operational definition is a precise statement of the measuring of a variable or of the categories of a variable for purpose of measurement  
Link
 2.  Reliability is established when the researcher is using a method that demonstrates consistency of the measurement; the method produces the same results if it is used repeatedly or if a different investigator uses it  
  Professor Hairball has repeated his study on hair magazines every year for ten years.  He has always gotten the same results.  Therefore, Hairball believes his study is very reliable  
  Reliability is the consistency of the measurement  
Link
 3.  Validity indicates that the researcher is measuring the concept they intended to measure; that the methods utilized yield accurate info about the phenomenon being studied  
  Validity is established by  measuring the concept you intend to measure  
  The strong emphasis on valid & reliable methods is one important distinction btwn the social sciences & journalistic accounts in newspapers, magazines, on the TV news, the internet, etc.   
  The strong emphasis on valid & reliable methods is one important distinction btwn the social sciences & humanistic accounts of social phenomenon such as novels, an expose', videos, docudrama, etc.   
  Social scientists such as post modernists, et al, believe that if social science is to be effective, it must connect w/ the subject, i.e., the phenomenon being studied, & the object, i.e. the person or people examining the research   
  An emotion laden research project is not necessarily unreliable or invalid, but special care must be taken
 
Link
 4.  Constructs are concepts that are abstract and at least to some extent must be formulated by the researcher  
  Constructs are created by researchers when they are attempting to measure abstract concepts such as intelligence
 
  Examples of constructs include intelligence, happiness, power, satisfaction, quality of life, etc.  
  PROBLEMS IN RESEARCH STEM FROM THE FACT THAT PEOPLE REACT TO BEING STUDIED   
Link
 Reactivity is the tendency of people being studied to react to the researcher or to the fact that they are being studied  
Link
 The Hawthorne effect is a form of reactivity where people being studied attempt to please the researcher  
  The Placebo effect is a form of reactivity where people, as a result of being studied, behave differently, i.e. as the test subjects do, when in fact nothing has changed  
  Objectivity is a state of complete personal neutrality in conducting research  
  Bias is non objectivity in research; personal involvement in conducting research whether intentional or unintentional  
  The survey is the most widely used method in sociology  
  The kinds of surveys are the
- closed end questionnaire
- open end questionnaire
- telephone interview
- personal interview		  
 
 DIFFERENT QUESTION TYPES MEASURE DIFFERENT SOCIAL MATERIAL 
 
  Fixed response questions in a survey are like multiple choice exam questions  
  The Likert scale form of surveying gives a clear range of choices on a 5 or 7 point scale

Strongly Agree   Agree    Neutral / No Opinion    Disagree     Strongly Disagree
     ______          _____                _____                    _____             ______
 

  
  In open ended questions the respondent states or writes an answer to the question in their own words.  (Similar to an interview)  
  There are FOUR types of questions typically used in surveys & interviews, including
- Background  (demographics)
- Activities 
- Knowledge
- Sentiments (opinions, values, attitudes, feelings, etc.)		  
  When writing survey questions, 
- use short statements
- begin w/ 'easy' questions
- use 'hard' questions near the end of the survey
- end w/ open ended questions		  
Link
 Sampling is the random selection from a general population to establish a sample group, which should represent the entire population  
  AN EXPERIMENT IS A SCIENTIFIC EXPLORATION IN A CONTROLLED / LIMITED SITUATION   
  Experiments are carried out in a situation that is under some control of the researcher, such as a lab or classroom  
  The steps in the experimental process include
Sampling to determine the
Control & experimental groups
Pre-test
Experimental manipulation
Post-test
Debriefing
Analysis		  
 
 The experimental group goes through an experience or manipulation
 
  The control group does not experience a manipulation of an independent variable & receives the pre-test & post-test  
  Lab experiments are done in setting w/ almost total control by researcher  
  The TWO types of field experiments are natural experiments & social experiments  
  In natural experiments, the researcher gives pre- & post-tests around a natural event, or the tabulation data before & after a natural event  
  In social experiments, the researcher gives pre- & post-tests around a social policy  
  INTERVIEWS ARE ORAL SURVEYS   
  The strength of an interview over a survey is that researcher can follow leads to unplanned questions  
  In structured interviews, the questions are pre planned  
  In unstructured interviews, the unplanned questions follow the flow of the conversation  
  FIELD OBSERVATION IS ATTENTIVENESS TO SOCIAL MATERIAL TO MEASURE IT IN SOME MANNER   
  The FOUR qualities of field observation include obtrusiveness, unobtrusiveness, participant & non participant  
  In obtrusive field observation, the researcher is seen, recognized as a researcher;  open or overt  
  In unobtrusive observation, the researcher is hidden or not recognized as a researcher;  secret or covert  
  In participant observation, the researcher is, during the research, participating in the activities of the subjects  
  In non participatory observation, the researcher is not participating; remains separated, aloof  
Link
 Content analysis is an analysis of narrative data from open ended surveys, interviews, books, press, media, etc.) that looks for regularity   
  Statistical analysis is an analysis of existing data (census, govt records, etc.) or data you have collected (surveys, experiments, interviews, etc.) to determine correlations  
Link
 Multivariate analysis is the sorting out many factors to determine most important factors  

 
Top
Examples of Variables

  age                    religion                     education level            env concern
  gender              political party             race                           satisfaction in the workplace
  income             marital status             occupation                  effective decisions


 
Top
Examples of Independent & Dependent Variables

Abuse & stress
Lack of social integration & suicide
Number of autos & global warming
Education & environmental concern
Income & environmental concern
Openness & satisfaction in the workplace
Number of guidelines to follow & effective critical decision making


 
Top
Examples of Positive & Negative Correlation

Positive Correlation:  both variables change in same direction
Ed level is positively correlated w/ income
Negative Correlation:  a situation where one variable increases & the other decreases
Ed level is negatively correlated w/ poverty rates


 
Top
Example of Constructs

ideal type of bureaucrat
Weber:  rational, power in the office, tenure, salary, entrance exams & appointment from within


 
Top
Example of Validity

IQ   Many people question the validity of IQ tests. 
 


 
Top
Example of Reactivity

Hawthorne effect:  form of reactivity:  people being studied attempt to please the researcher: 
From H Motor Wiring Room:  young women & young male researchers


 
Top
Sampling: the random selection from a general population to establish a Sample Group, which represents the entire population

Sample Group:  a subset of a population that is used to represent the entire population.

The basic way to obtain a representative sample is by a random draw from everyone in the population in question. 

No matter how small your population, you almost always need 50 people in order to have a scientifically valid sample.

1,100 is enough for most major survey firms to survey the US 

Thus if you divide your sample into different groups, you need even more people. 
If you want to compare men & women:  50 of each
If you want to compare lower income, middle income & upper income men and women, how many do you need? 
6 groups:
50 lo income men
50 lo income women
50 mid income men
50 mid income women
50 hi income men
50 hi income women
300 total


 
Top
Example of Content Analysis

Violence & TV:  perform content analysis on top 10 novels  & top 10 TV shows of each decade to determine amount of violence.  Is there a correlation? 


 
Top
Example of Multivariate Analysis

Divorce:  age at marriage; class, ed, race of spouses; income of each; expectations; children; urban/rural; love; sex; length of marriage; etc.


 
Internal
Links

Top
 Outline on  Social Laws
External
Links
  THERE IS A HIERARCHY OF THE VALIDITY OF SOCIAL SCIENCE FINDINGS   
blank
 There is somewhat of an agreed upon hierarchy in methods indicating the authority & acceptability of ideas / knowledge including the range of: 
- social laws
- paradigms
- theories
- concepts
- hypothesis
 
blank
 Social laws are the most widely accepted knowledge 
 
  Social laws are felt to be absolute & irreversible   
blank
 Today, there are no social "laws"
 
  But for each of us, behavior, beliefs, & ideology becomes so fixed, that we act as if there are social laws   
  The concept of the spirit as used by early social thinkers, embodies Monte’s understanding of the distinctive character of a system of social laws  
  MONTESQUIEU PROPOSED THE IDEA OF SOCIAL LAWS & HELD THAT THEY HAVE PARTICULAR QUALITIES   
 Link
 Montesquieu proposed that one of the qualities of social laws is that:  
  1.  they are the necessary relations arising from nature of things  
blank
 2.  they apply to nature & to people
 
blank
 3.  they underlie all things, human, natural, & divine
 
blank
 4.  philosophy's task was to discover these laws
 
blank
 5.  laws about human nature were extremely complex, hence the need for the scientific method & ideal types
 
blank
 6.  knowledge of the laws would ease ills of society
 
blank
 Monte believed customs emerge spontaneously while social laws are estb in a formal & explicit fashion
 
blank
 Monte believed that social laws are spontaneous & natural, but formal  
Link
 Monte’s conception of social laws is itself ambiguous because laws can be at variance w/ what a society needs because of the limits of human knowledge, errors, & chance events  
  TODAY, THERE ARE NO UNIVERSAL SOCIAL LAWS   
  But while law's are universal, there are there are no truly universal laws in society  
blank
 We can reconcile the apparent lack of universal social laws by recalling that there can be laws, and/or ideal types which are generally true  
  But it is difficult to generalize, so each must be tailored to fit the particular situation  
blank
 Monte believes that intellectual freedom is intact despite the apparent determinism implied by social laws  
blank
 People are not passive creatures, evolving or developing automatically, rather we are active players who attempt to understand & influence our env & ourselves  
blank
 Reflexive social theorists, post modernists & others do not accept the existence of social laws  
blank
 Monte’s ideas on intellectual freedom are similar to many contemporary social theorists in that they see no conflict btwn social laws & freedom  
  SOCIAL SCIENTISTS ATTEMPT TO BRIDGE THE GAP BTWN DETERMINISM & INDIVIDUALISM   
  Monte & contemporary social theorists try to bridge the gap btwn social determinism & individualism, including:   
  a.  Anthony Giddens' concept of reflexive sociology   
  b.  in econ, the Rational Man Theory  
  c.  in psych: the 100th Monkey Syndrome  
  d.  Karl Weick's organizational theories   
  e.  Post Modernists who practically deny any structural forces  
blank
 All theories do not try to bridge the gap btwn social determinism & individualism, but some, such as Giddens, Weick, & post modernists focus on the social forces / free will interaction  
  THERE ARE COMMONALTIES BTWN THEORIES OF DETERMINISM & THEORIES OF INDIVIDUALISM   
blank
 What all of the theories that bridge the gap btwn determinism & individualism have in common is that:   
  a.  some people discover a new relationship, principle, or law in a particular field   
  b.  people learn this knowledge at different rates due to exposure, intelligence, access to power & resources...   
  c.  people act in accordance w/ this new knowledge   
  d.  people's reaction based on the new knowledge about an 'old' law or relationship often tends to negate the original law   
blank
 Thus social laws are laws so long as people follow them
-  out of ignorance
-  out of agreement
-  from being forced		  
blank
 Thomas Kuhn wrote The Structure of Scientific Revolutions  in 1962 in which he contrasts normal research & the new paradigm research when the old paradigm becomes transparently inadequate  

 
Top
  
Example of Monte’s ambiguity of Social Laws

Monte felt that democratic republican societies had made mistakes in developing slavery

Domination of one race by another was believed to be a "nat law" based on Darwin, but Monte did not accept it


 
Internal
Links

Top
 Outline on the  Development of Sociology
External
Links
  SUMMARY: 
Sociology began around the 1700s w/ influences from earlier social philosophy
St. Simon is known as the Father of Sociology
Sociology was influenced by Enlightenment ideals
Durkheim established sociology as an academic discipline
Around 1900, the 1st sociology dept. in the US was established in Chicago 
The Chicago School focused on activism, social work & social reform
Functionalism developed during WW2 & reflected the conservatism of the nation
Conflict theory, which was more radical, developed during the Vietnam era
Today sociology focuses on many diverse areas 
 
 
 SOCIOLOGY BEGAN AROUND THE 1700s, INFLUENCED BY EARLIER SOCIAL PHILOSOPHY  
  Early sociology was influenced by social philosophers such as Hobbes     1588  -  1679  
  Sociology began around the 1700s w/ influences from earlier social philosophy  
  Early sociologists began applying the scientific method to the study of society, groups, etc. & believed that society could be improved  
  Saint Simon        1760 - 1825        is considered the father of sociology  
  Auguste Comte         1798 - 1857    coined the term "sociology"  
  Comte believed that the major goal of sociology was to understand society as it actually operates  
  Comte saw sociology as the product of a three stage historical development including the: 
a.  theological stage, in which thought was guided by religion
b.  metaphysical stage, a transitional phase
c.  scientific stage, which we have not totally entered yet		  
  The scientific stage would be guided by positivism: a way of understanding based on science  
 
 SEVEN SOCIAL FACTORS AFFECTED THE EARLY SOC SCIENCES, 
JUST AS SOC FACTORS AFFECT THE SOC SCIENCES TODAY
 
  1.  Population explosions  
  2.  The Enclosure Movement & urbanization  
  3.  Religious changes during the period of 1300 - 1700 resulted in unified Western Christianity being shattered at the hands of Luther, et al, in the 1500s in a social change called the Reformation  
  4.  Growth of science  
      - Industrial Revolutions  
  5.  Political revolutions, especially England, US, & France, affected the early social sciences  
  a.  The political revolutions that affected the early social sciences were characterized by democratization, the fall of monarchy, & the rise of "the rabble," aka the middle class  
  b.  Rise of capitalism  
  c.  Rise of socialism in Europe, and especially in Russia:   1907-1917 and before  
  6.  "Modern" social problems:  Joseph Gusfield notes that Sociology emerged as a force to deal w/ social problems such as urbanization, poverty, crime, etc.  
  7.  The Enlightenment, which was a 100 yr. span from English Revolution ( 1642 ) to the French Revolution ( 1789 ) affected the early social sciences  
  Sociology was influenced by Enlightenment ideals  
  Enlightenment thinkers such as Montesquieu, Rousseau, Wollstonecraft, et al were influential  
  Out of all of these factors, the 3 major social changes during the 17th & 18th Cs that were important to the development of sociology include:
a.  the rise of industrial technology
b.  the growth of cities
c.  political change, including a rising concern w/ individual liberty & rights as manifesting in the US & French revs		  
  EARLY SOCIOLOGY HAD 'AGREEMENT' ON NINE TENETS & THUS THERE WAS MORE 
SCIENTIFIC CONSENSUS THAT THERE IS IN THE CONTEMPORARY SOC SCIENCES 		  
  1.  Society was seen as the most important unit of analysis  
  Society is more than individual  
  The individual is produced through socialization  
  2.  The group was seen as an important unit of analysis & the most important units of analysis include the family & the workplace  
  3.  The parts of society are interrelated through complex relationships on multiple levels  
  4.  Social change is a threat  
  5.  Society was functional & therefore there is little use in looking at the negative aspects of society  
  6.  The small social units of society, e.g., the family, the workplace, religious groups, etc. are essential or vital for the operation of society  
  7.  Industrialization, bureaucracy, urbanization, immigration, etc. disorganize society  
  8.  The non rational is bad or dysfunctional for society  
  9.  The social sciences, including sociology, should support the existing social arrangements, such as hierarchy, in society  
  DURKHEIM ESTABLISHED SOCI AS AN ACADEMIC DISCIPLINE   
  Emile Durkheim was pivotal in founding sociology as an academic social science because he established the use of the scientific method to study social phenomenon such as suicide & founded the first sociology dept. in the University of Paris   
  Durkheim's pivotal study entitled Suicide, which examined the social factors contributing to 'the most personal act' was instrumental in helping people understand the influence of social influences & the thus the value of the soc sciences   
  THE CHICAGO SCHOOL WAS THE 1st AM SOCI DEPT, ESTBED SOC WK & ACTIVISM, & USED CHICAGO AS A LAB   
  In 1893, the first sociology dept. in the US was established in Chicago  
  The Chicago School brought sociology into America prior to & after 1900 & established the social work & activist directions   
  The Chicago School was also known as the Ecological School  
  At the Chicago School, the focus on social problems & the researchers used Chicago as a laboratory  
  The focus of the Chicago School on social problems predated functionalism & conflict theory  
  The Chicago School focused on social deviance, which was defined as a violation of society's norms or rules for appropriate behavior & became synonymous with the term social problems  
  The Chicago School focused on activism, social work & social reform
 
  The theory of Chicago School held that:
 
  - social problems were caused by factors external to the individual, that is, they were "ecological"
 
  - the person had little or no control and little or no responsibility for social problems as seen in Chicago
 
  - the cause of social problems was unhealthy social environment of inner city
 
  - social problems can be solved by integrating the groups in the unstable areas into mainstream
 
  - American life is a melting pot
 
  FUNCTIONALISM FOCUSES ON THE REGULATING / HOMOGENIZING ASPECTS OF SOCIETY  
  Functionalism developed during WW2 & reflected the conservatism of the nation
 
  Functionalism developed in the US & this period of conservatism in US occurred as radicalism in Europe developed
 
  Harvard sociology reigned from the turn of the century to the 1950s & changed the direction of sociology from a social work / activist direction to one that was more conservative, keeping in times w/ the public attitude as a result of WW2, in the form of functionalism
 
  CONFLICT THEORY FOCUSES ON THE COMPETITIVE ASPECTS OF SOCIETY THROUGH CLASS ANALYSIS   
  Conflict theory evolved from Marxism & was too radical for the US until it was toned down & began class analysis in the US in the 1940s  
  Conflict theory has roots in the US in the 1940s & 50s in the Am Left & such theorists as C Wright Mills, but did not become influential until the 1960s
 
  Conflict theory, which was more radical, developed during the Vietnam era
 
  The 1950s - mid 1970s saw the American form of Marxism arrive in the form of conflict theory, radicalizing sociology, questioning the conservative functionalism of the previous era
 
  While conflict theory had been in Europe for decades, it arrives in US in the 1950s  
  Conflict theory reflects development of the Civil Rights Movement, Vietnam Protests, Feminist Movement, Environmental Movement, etc.  
  THE POST VIETNAM ERA AGAIN BROUGHT A RETURN TO A CONSERVATIVE DIRECTION FOR SOCIOLOGY   
  Since the Post Vietnam era:
- conflict theory & functionalism have both lost influence
- no clear replacement theory for conflict theory or functionalism has emerged
- most Sociology has become a hybrid of both conflict theory & functionalism		  
  TODAY SOCIOLOGY FOCUSES ON MANY DIVERSE AREAS   
  From the 1980s to the present there has been the growth of a plurality of fields in sociology, including:
- feminism
- criminology
- post-modernism
- organizational sociology
- urban sociology
- environmental sociology, etc.		  

 
Internal
Links

Top
Outline on the  Enlightenment & Modernity:
The Tenets of the Enlightenment
circa 1642 - 1789
External
Links
  -  Project:  The Enlightenment 
Link
  -  Project:  Which Aspects of the Enlightenment are Still Relevant Today? 
Link
  -  Video:  The French Revolution 
Link
  -  Project:  The French Revolution 
Link
Link
  There are TWELVE  tenets of the Enlightenment 
 
1.  "Worship" of Reason   7.  Scientific Method
2.  Religion Oppresses   8.  Rationality Overcomes Emotions
3.  Reason is Powerful   9.  Universal Rights
4.  Nature is Orderly 10.  Progress
5.  Universal Laws 11.  Social Sciences Shepherd Progress
6  Deism 12.  Individualism
 
  1.  WESTERN SOCIETY "WORSHIPS" REASON:  SCIENCE ALLOWS US TO EXAMINE EVERYTHING 
 
 
 Western Society elevated reason / science so that it was the organizing principle for life
 
 
 For some reason displaces religious worship, but for most, it supplements religious worship
 
  The Enlightenment philosophers believed that given the advancement of knowledge, it's only a matter of time until people learned to let reason, not ignorance, emotion, or superstition, guide them and then people/society can would find happiness/harmony   
  We can know things beyond what holy men tell us  
  The Enlightenment's embrace of reason & science heralds a new theory of knowledge or epistemology   
  2.  RELIGION CAN OPPRESS 
 
  Some could dare say in public:  "God is Dead"  but most people are still very religious  
  Religious leaders were accused of keeping people in ignorance in order to maintain their own personal power  
  The Enlightenment blamed people in authority, esp. the leaders of the Roman Catholic Church, for keeping people in ignorance in order to maintain their own personal power  
Link
 3.  REASON / SCIENCE IS EXTREMELY POWERFUL 
 
  Enlightenment thinkers were influenced by discoveries in the physical sciences by such people as Galileo & Newton  
  For the Enlightenment philosophers, math yielded absolute truth since it was based on simple axioms (self evident truths), and then moved from one self evident step to another  
  For the Enlightenment philosophers, the mathematical / logical model was the model all the sciences should use  
  Reason is the power that allows one to “see” mathematical truths just as clearly as one's hand before one's eyes; the senses, however, yield only particular/contingent truths  
  4.  NATURE IS ORDERLY & KNOWABLE
 
  See Also:  Montesquieu  
  Montesquieu was an important contributor to idea of Orderliness of Nature  
  For the Enlightenment philosophers, the nature is vast and complex, but well ordered  
  The English poet Alexander Pope (1688-1744) described nature as “a mighty maze, but not without plan.”  
  The Enlightenment philosophers & Montesquieu believed all things could be explained according to few simple laws, e.g. gravitation  
  Montesquieu's  Spirit of the Laws (1748) is an example of of the simplicity, orderliness & knowableness of nature: “The material world has its laws, the intelligences superior to man have their laws, the beasts their laws, and man his laws.”  
  According to post modernists, the conception of the orderliness & knowableness of nature is incorrect  
  For the post modernists, the process of classification presupposes orderliness, so by the very act of classifying a scientist is proposing a solution which makes the science of the Enlightenment circular  
Link
 5.  THERE ARE UNIVERSAL LAWS 
 
  For the Enlightenment philosophers, there are laws for physical & social sciences & even for the divine  
  For the Enlightenment philosophers, the universal laws of the physical sciences applied even to god  
  Even god does not violate physical & social laws
Examples
- gravity
- conservation of matter & energy		  
 
 Everything in the world could be explained by a few simple laws
 
 
 See Also:  Social laws
Link
 
 6.  DEISM IS THE IDEA THAT GOD CREATED THE UNIVERSE 
& THEN LEFT IT ALONE, RULING OUT THE POSSIBILITIES OF MIRACLES 
 
Link
 See Also:  Science & religion
 
  For the Enlightenment philosophers, truth is good  
  During the age of the Enlightenment, people believed that the universe could be understood by the human mind  
  During the age of the Enlightenment, people believed that god could create a universe too complex to understand, but he did not  
  God designed the world, the Laws, so that they are knowable  
  Thus during the Enlightenment era, for the first time people began to believe that future events are predictable  
  The universe was a big clock that kept perfect time  
 
 7.  THE SCIENTIFIC METHODS EMERGES AS A POWERFUL CENTERPIECE OF SCIENCE   
  The scientific method could be applied to study of human nature  
  Philosophers organized knowledge in encyclopedias & founded scientific institutions  
  Many scientific institutes were formed, including the now famous Royal Society in England  
  With the development of science, came the development of the methods of induction & deduction  
 
 8.  RATIONALITY MUST OVERCOME EMOTIONS 
 
  People who act on impulse are doing so out of ignorance or lack of ed & refinement  
  Descartes thought that to become rational, a person need only acquire an ed that teaches a good method of reasoning  
  For Descartes, & other Enlightenment philosophers, people have rational will & the ability to wait  
  For Descartes, & other Enlightenment philosophers, animals are ruled by their emotions  
  For Descartes, & other Enlightenment philosophers, our big advantage over other animals is that we reason  
  9.  PEOPLE HAVE UNIVERSAL RIGHTS 
 
  The French Philosophers criticized church & state, pushing for the “rights of man”  
  The concept of inalienable rights in the US Constitution has roots in the Enlightenment:  ‘All men are created equal and endowed by their creator with certain inalienable rights: Life, Liberty, Pursuit of Happiness’  
  For the French, during the Enlightenment, universal rights included freedom from arbitrary power, the freedom of speech, freedom of trade, & the freedom to realize ones talents  
  10.  THERE IS PROGRESS 
 
  Optimism!  
  At the time of the Enlightenment, life for the common people had barely changed from the hunter gatherer era, through pre ancient society, through Ancient Empires, through the early middle ages  
  Then w/ the Enlightenment, political & religious freedom inventions, & quality of life improved  
  W/ the positive changes of the Enlightenment, common people saw real progress for the first time in history  
  The positive changes that began w/ the Enlightenment have continued for approximately 300 yrs. now  
  11.  THE SOCIAL SCIENCES SHEPHERD PROGRESS 
 
  See Also: Saint Simon   1760 - 1825  
  Saint Simon held that the social sciences should become "the new religion" to unite all & establish modern society  
  The Chicago school (mid - late 1800s) establish the ideas that the social sciences could shepherd progress  
  The idea of the social science shepherding progress became fanatical for St. Simon & "a cause" for the Chicago School  
  The idea that the social sciences could shepherd progress has never been accepted by the public, but has occasionally been accepted by leaders  
  12.  INDIVIDUALISM IS A VALID PHILOSOPHY, A SUPERIOR PHILOSOPHY
 
  The Enlightenment thinkers & the individualist philosophy as developed in this era connotes a different conception of individualism than we might address today in that they were contrasting individualism w/ the conception of the person that existed in traditional society where there was very little credence given to the importance of the common person to act or think on their own  

 
Top  
3. Reason / science is powerful:
Galileo:  law of acceleration
Newton:  gravity:  attraction is proportional to mass 

A hand usually has five fingers, but  may not always. 
Five plus five is always ten


 
Top  
5. Universal laws for physical & social sciences;     even the divine

Even god does not violate physical & social laws
Examples
- gravity
- conservation of matter & energy

There are no real social laws      Link


 
Top  
Science & Religion
Reason combined w/ observation is how we acquire truth
Truth is good; the good is god/grace
Sustained effort to bring together combination of rational philosophy & empirical philosophy
Bishop Berkeley & David Hume:  but senses cannot be trusted, therefore science cannot be trusted:  faith in god must be retained
Condillac:  combine reasoning & senses, & people are no longer passive, go created active people:  discovery is good/holy
Fr came to believe that there was an external order

 
Internal
Links

Top
 Outline on the  French Revolution
External
Links
Link
 -  Video:  The French Rev
Link
  -  Video Project:  The French Rev
Link
  PRE REVOLUTION CONDITIONS  
  The French Revolution (FR) lasted from 1789 to 1799, & had far reaching effects on the rest of Europe  
  The FR brought about great changes in the society & govt of France  
  The FR introduced democratic ideals to France but did not make the nation a democracy  
  However, the FR did end supreme rule by French kings & strengthened the middle class  
  After the revolution began, no European kings, nobles, or other privileged groups could ever again take their powers for granted or ignore the ideals of liberty & equality  
 
 The 100 yrs. of the Fr transition to democracy was extremely violent & it was not until the late 1800s that stability returned Napoleon III was defeated by Prussia in 1870
 
  Various social, political, & economic conditions led to the FR  
  The conditions which led to the FR included dissatisfaction among the lower & middle classes, interest in new ideas about govt, & financial problems caused by the costs of wars  
  During the time of the FR, legal divisions among social groups that had existed for hundreds of years created much discontent  
  THE THREE ESTATES OR CLASSES  
  According to law, French society consisted of three groups called estates  
  Members of the clergy made up the first estate, nobles the second, & the rest of the people the third  
  The peasants formed the largest group in the third estate  
  Many of the peasants in France in the 1700s earned so little that they could barely feed their families  
  The third estate also included the working people of the cities & a large & prosperous middle class made up chiefly of merchants, lawyers, & govt officials  
  The third estate resented certain advantages of the first two estates
 
 
 The clergy & nobles did not have to pay most taxes
 
 
 The third estate, especially the peasants, had to provide almost all the country's tax revenue
 
 
 At the time of the Fr Rev, many members of the middle class were also troubled by their social status because while they were among the most important people in French society, they were not recognized as such because they belonged to the third estate
 
 
 The new ideas about govt challenged France's absolute monarchy
 
 
 At the time of the Fr Rev, under the Fr monarchical system, the king had almost unlimited authority
 
 
 The Fr King governed by divine right, that is, the monarch's right to rule was thought to come from god
 
 
 There were checks on the king, but these came mainly from a few groups of aristocrats in the parliaments (high courts)
 
 
 During the 1700's, French writers called philosophes & philosophers from other countries raised new ideas about freedom  
  Some of these thinkers, including Jean Jacques Rousseau, suggested that the right to govern came from the people
 
 
 CRISIS
 
  The Fr Rev began w/ a govt financial crisis but quickly became a movement of reform & violent change
 
 
 The financial crisis developed because the nation had gone deeply into debt to finance fighting in the Seven Years' War (1756-1763) & the Revolutionary War in America (1775-1783)
 
  By 1788, the govt was almost bankrupt, but the Parliament of Paris insisted that King Louis XVI could borrow more money or raise taxes only by calling a meeting of the Estates General  
  The Estates General was made up of representatives of the three estates, & had last met in 1614 & the king unwillingly called the meeting  
  The third estate, the peasants, insisted that all the estates be merged into one national assembly & that each representative have one vote & it also wanted the Estates General to write a constitution  
  The king & the first two estates, the clergy & the nobles, refused the demands of the third estate, the peasants  
  THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY OF FRANCE  
  In June 1789, the representatives of the third estate declared themselves the National Assembly of France & gathered at a tennis court & pledged not to disband until they had written a constitution  
  The vow of the third estate to form a constitution became known as the Oath of the Tennis Court  
  Louis XVI then allowed the three estates to join together as the National Assembly, but at the same time began to gather troops to break up the Assembly  
  While the National Assembly negotiated a constitution & while King Louis secretly gathered troops the masses of France also took action by gathering at the Bastille  
  STORMING THE BASTILLE & PEASANT UPRISINGS  
 
 In July, 1789, a huge crowd of Parisians rushed to the Bastille, a royal fortress & hated symbol of oppression
 
  The masses believed they would find arms & ammunition there for use in defending themselves against the king's army  
  The people captured the Bastille & began to tear it down & at the same time, leaders in Paris formed a revolutionary city govt  
  Massive peasant uprisings against nobles also broke out in the countryside  
  A few nobles, who were called émigrés because they emigrated, decided to flee France & many more followed in the next five yrs  
  The uprisings in town & countryside saved the National Assembly from being disbanded by the king  
 
 During the rev, Fr armies suffered military defeats & Parisians feared that the invading armies would soon invade the city
 
 
 Parisians also feared an uprising by the large number of people in the city's prisons
 
  In August 1789, the Assembly adopted the Decrees of August 4 & the Declaration of the Rights of Man & of the Citizen which abolished some feudal dues that the peasants owed their landlords, the tax advantages of the clergy & nobles, & regional privileges  
  The declaration guaranteed the same basic rights to all citizens, including "liberty, property, security, & resistance to oppression" as well as representative govt  
  The Assembly later drafted a constitution that made Fr a limited monarchy w/ a one house legislature  
  THE REIGN OF TERROR  
 
 In the first week of September, small numbers of Parisians took the law into their own hands & executed more than 1,000 prisoners
 
 
 In 1789, the "September Massacres" occurred when ordinary citizens in France executed over 1,000 prisoners who were mostly clergy & nobles
 
 
 The September Massacres turned many people in France & Europe against the revolution 
 
 
 After the September Massacres, a series of elected legislatures then took control of the govt 
 
 
 King Louis XVI & his wife, Marie Antoinette, were executed 
 
 
 Thousands of others met their death in a period called the Reign of Terror 
 
  The new invention of the guillotine sped up the mass execution process & the streets flowed w/ blood   
  The term "terrorism" originated from the Reign of Terror that characterized the Fr Rev   
  While the modern form of terrorism has been around for millennium, it is during this period of violence in the Fr Rev that the term terrorism came into usage   
  The Assembly seized the property of the Roman Catholic Church   
  THE LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY   
  By September 1791, the National Assembly believed that the rev was over & it disbanded at the end of the month to make way for the newly elected Legislative Assembly   
  The new Assembly, made up mainly of representatives of the middle class, opened in Oct. of 1791   
  The New Assembly faced the challenges of creating internal stability as well as facing a foreign threat   
  Stability during the FR depended on the cooperation btwn the King & the Assembly but Louis remained opposed & so he asked other rulers for help in stopping it, & plotted w/ aristocrats & émigrés to overthrow the new govt   
  Public opinion became bitterly divided:  the revolution's religious policy angered many Catholics while other people demanded stronger measures against opponents of the revolution.   
  In April 1792, the new govt went to war against Austria & Prussia & these nations wished to restore the king & émigrés to their positions   
  While Louis XVI & his supporters clearly hoped for the victory of the invaders, the foreign armies defeated Fr forces in the early fighting & invaded Fr  
  As a result of the defeat of the French armies, angry revolutionaries in Paris & other areas demanded that the king be dethroned & in August 1792, the people of Paris took custody of Louis XVI & his family & imprisoned them  
  Louis's removal ended the constitutional monarchy & the Assembly then called for a National Convention to be chosen in an election open to nearly all French males age 21 or older, & for a new constitution  
  In Sept 1792, Fr forces defeated a Prussian army in the Battle of Valmy, which prevented the Prussians from advancing on Paris, helped end the crisis  
  In time, the radicals began to struggle for power among themselves  
  Most of the democratic reforms of the past two years were abolished in what became known as the Thermidorian Reaction  
  The Convention replaced the democratic constitution it had adopted in 1793 w/ a new one in 1795   
  W/ the 1795 Constitution, France was still a republic, but once again only citizens who paid a certain amount of taxes could vote  
 
 The revolution ended when Napoleon Bonaparte, a French general, took over the govt in Nov of 1799
 
  The Fr Rev brought France into opposition w/ much of Europe because the monarchs who ruled the other nations feared the spread of democratic ideals  
  The revolution left the Fr people in extreme disagreement about the best form of govt for their country but the revolution created the long lasting foundations for a unified state, a strong central govt, & a free society dominated by the middle class & the landowners  
 
 ANALYSIS OF THE FRENCH REV
 
 
 LeBon studied the collective behavior of the people & offered theories to explain the crowd behavior & violence in his study, The Crowd:  A Study of the Popular Mind, 1895  
 
 LeBon noted that in the French Revolts, people engaged in criminal acts were cheered & they later demanded medals for their patriotism, & he thought this was irrational behavior  
 
 "May you be cursed to live in interesting times"  
 
 France had irreversibly changed in almost every way during the period from the Fr Rev of 1789 & LeBon thought much of this was due to social contagion
 
  The Fr Rev is seen as historically important because, as Tocqueville noted, the freedoms, etc. which the rev embraced were a historically new model for society  
  The Fr Rev validates many of Farley's necessary conditions for rev in that:  
  -  the peasants, the third estate, was dissatisfied because of high taxes, poverty, oppression of the populace by the military, etc.  
  -  while communications were difficult in the late 1700s, it was still possible given the mail, newspapers, etc. & since much of the rev occurred in the cities, the people were close to each other  
  -  the people & leaders had survived several attempts at repression by the French monarchy  
  -  while the people feared the French Monarchy because it was so powerful, they had their beliefs in justice & equality to inspire them  
  -  the French peasants had barely adequate resources, but were bolstered by the support of the bourgeoisie class  
  The FR validates many of Marx's factors affecting rev in that  
  -  the French peasants experienced the contradiction of monarchical feudalism & democratic capitalism  
  -  the French peasants had class consciousness in that they understood the contradiction because the French Enlightenment had spread ideals of individualism, freedom, etc. to the general populace  
  -  the historical circumstances of the weakness of the French Monarchy, the rise of the bourgeoisie class, & the loss of wars by the French all contributed to the success of the French Rev  
  -  the French peasants had a strong political org in the form of the Parisian govts  
  -  there was a high level of class conflict btwn the clergy, the monarchy, the peasants, & the bourgeoisie & the clergy & the monarchy banded together while the peasants, & the bourgeoisie banded together  
  The Fr Rev validates Johnson's theory in that 18th century France was in disequilibrium because of the contradiction btwn democratic & free mkt values, & the econ system, btwn monarchical values & econ system, & democratic values & econ system  
  Johnson notes that loss in a war sets the old regime up for rev, & in the case of the French Rev, they had 
-  lost the Seven Years War
-  lost the French & Indian War
-  gone into debt funding the Am Rev War
-  won some & lost some battles during the actual FR from 1789 to 1799		  

 
Top

Internal
Links
  Outline on  Saint Simon
1760 - 1825
External
Links
Link
 -  Biography & Major Works
 
  ST-SIMON DEVELOPED AN EARLY SOCIAL SCIENCE WHICH HE HOPED WOULD BE UNIFIED 
W/ THE PHYSICAL SCIENCES, & INFLUENCED BY MANY ENLIGHTENMENT IDEALS		  
 
 Saint Simon called study of human conduct "Social Physiology" which he saw the as a science of social organization
 
 
 Saint Simon conceptualized social physiology as a science of social organization
 
 
 Saint Simon emphasized that historical change is at heart of society
 
 
 Two intellectual currents shape St. Simon's thought, including: 
 
 
      1.  The Enlightenment  
 
      2.  Struggle btwn Romantics/Conservatives & Catholics
 
  Like Enlightenment thinkers, Saint Simon had faith in the power of reason to change world  
  But Saint Simon disagrees w/ Enlightenment thinkers on the evaluation of the Middle Ages  
  Saint Simon appreciated medieval unity & believed that science & industry sounded the death knell of the Middle Ages  
 
 Saint Simon hoped for a unified science, the physical & social sciences
 
 
 Saint Simon hoped the human sciences would become united as had the natural & physical sciences
 
  During his lifetime, Saint Simon saw the dream of unification as fading  
  Saint Simon viewed science as a body of verified & established beliefs that could replace religion  
 
 Saint Simon believes that human knowledge passed through 3 stages in development
 
 
      1.  Theological
 
 
      2.  Metaphysical
 
 
      3.  Scientific
 
 
 SAINT SIMON ADVOCATED A MERITOCRACY OF 3 CLASSES 
 
 
      1.  Scientists
 
 
      2.  Artists
 
 
      3.  Industrialists
 
  Saint Simon advocates a unification of bourgeoisie & professional classes, but the bourgeoisie repudiated him for his theology  
 
 St. Simon's class analysis is different from most analyses today
 
 
 Saint Simon lumped together
  - bankers             - industrialists              - scientists
  - mgrs.                 - & manual workers
  assuming they all share common interests		  
 
 Saint Simon believed that a meritocracy should replace the existing class system:
 
 
 In his Letters from an Inhabitant of Geneva, Saint Simon views old society as divided into three classes:
 
 
      1.  Intellectuals:  scientists, artists, liberals 
 
 
      2.  The "Haves:"   property owners:  resist change
 
 
      3.  The "Have nots:"  the rest of humanity:  wants equality 
 
 
 SAINT SIMON BELIEVED SCIENCE & RELIGION SHOULD UNITE 
 
  Saint Simon believed that to achieve a unified religion, the new scientific elite must replace spiritual authority of the Church, providing a unified scientific doctrine  
  For Saint Simon, the structure of society remains, w/ intellectuals replacing Church   
  Saint Simon is imploring the propertied class to join intellectuals   
 
 Saint Simon's goals are to better humanity & create a new society 
 
 
 See Also:  Saint Simon's new society  
 
 Saint Simon bases social theories on scientific evidence, but many believe that his conclusions were unsystematic 
 
 
 Saint Simon developed ideas of positivism, industrialism, internationalism, & a "new religion" before 1814 
 
  Later Thierry & Comte viewed Saint Simon's as their own ideas (see Link Comte's intellectual "borrowing")   
  ST-SIMON AGREED W/ HEGEL THAT HISTORY DEMONSTRATED A RATIONAL UNFOLDING OF SOCIETY   
 
 Saint Simon has a developmental view of history
 
 
 While Hegel viewed historical development of society as increasing realization of reason, Saint Simon placed scientific knowledge in that role
 
 
 For Hegel, 
 
  - history & rationalization had stages   
  - each stage of history & rationalization had stages w/ a degree of rationality, & therefore necessity   
  - each stage of history & rationalization consisted of a struggle of opposing forces   
  Hegel's stages may be seen as stages of ascent, maturity, & decline  
  Saint Simon's theory is disjointed & piecemeal, but accepts many of Hegel's ideas  
  Saint Simon believes that history has passed through the stages of:  
    - polytheism   
    - theism  
    - & now physicism  
  Society is now in the positive or scientific stage  
  Today society is based on science, & has entered a positive stage where all knowledge will be unified on a scientific positive basis  
  Science, industry, markets, Protestant Revolution, & negative critical philosophy of Enlightenment all undermined Catholic church & hence medieval society  
  Social change is periodic or dialectical  
  Society alternated btwn ‘organic periods’  & ‘periods of crises’  
  RELIGION & SCIENCE TOGETHER COULD FOSTER A BETTER SOCIETY   
  Like Bonald, Saint Simon believed the stability of medieval Europe was result of its universally accepted religion  
 
 Religion should unite people on basis of common truths
 
 
 For Saint Simon, the function of religion is to provide a coherent view of universe & human existence, uniting people on basis of common truths
 
  Knowledge could be taught as well as passed by rituals, cults, & mystical processes  
 
 Saint Simon's Internationalism held that social development cannot take place in a single country     [ Marx agreed ]
 
 
 Therefore we must develop a community of nations where despotism is eliminated
 
 
 Science & positive philosophy must bind the nations of Europe into one international community, for w/o international order there can be no order or stability in individual societies of Europe
 
 
 All European countries have similar a social, econ, & religious history
 
  MILITARISM & CLASS BASED INEQUALITY THREATENED SOCIETY   
  Emergent industrial forces & spirit render the military spirit obsolete  
  Military conflict hinders the development of industrial civilization  
  Modern society is united by the need for security in production & liberty  
  But StS did not believe in the survival of the feudal elements in society  
  St Simon did not believe in the new nationalism in Europe which in the 20th C manifested itself as econ rivalry & led to WW I  & WW II  
 
 StS recognized that the values of some classes threaten society
 
  WHILE INDIVIDUALISM WAS A HISTLY NEW SOCIAL RELATION, ST-SIMON RECOGNIZED ITS WEAKNESSES   
 
 StS does not believe that the pursuit of individual well being will create societal good
 
  The value that the pursuit of individual well being creates societal good is a primary capitalist value today  
  Unbridled egoism & consumption by rich, as well as rebelliousness of poor, will upset society in absence of a worldly ethic  
  StS's beliefs on the need to dev an ethic to restrain egoism & chaos were accepted & dev by Durkheim 
Link
  ST-SIMON WANTED TO USE THE SCIENCE OF SOCIAL CHANGE TO CONSTRUCT NEW INSTITS & A UTOPIAN SOCIETY   
 
 StS was a scientific materialist
 
 
 Saint Simon believed that utopian ideals, even if carefully worked out in detailed political program, were useless if they did not take account of conditions that determine & mold historical change
 
  Utopian changes which did not take account of historical forces could create a vacuum that would eventually be filled by forces as undesirable as those expelled  
  New institutions must be adapted to technical, economic, & social requirements of time  
  While this seems quite sensible to us, most proposals for social change in Saint Simon's time were based on abstract values, ideals, religion, etc.  
  Saint Simon is one of earliest thinkers to utilize social science  
 
 But Saint Simon was also an idealist who embraced what was later called Marxist's historical materialism
 
 
 The dualism of mind & matter must be eliminated
 
 
 The beliefs & knowledge of a given period create... religious ideas which... cause changes in history
 

 
Top
  

Saint Simon
1760 - 1825
Born in Paris as
Claude Henri de Rouvro, changed to 
Comte de Saint Simon
SS had an aristocratic background;
His ed was unsystematic
He was self educated, except for some private tutors including 
Encyclopedist d’ Alembert
He had visited Rousseau & so was familiar w/ Enlightenment ideas
Top
  
Major Works
Letters from an Inhabitant of Geneva
Published a magazine L’Industrie, beginning in 1816
Oeuvres Completes de Saint Simon et Enfantin, 1865-1876
Top
  
Saint Simon's Later life 

Began a military career at age of 17.  Among first to advance a scheme for a canal to join Atlantic & Pacific.  While his was a noble family, SS advocated doing away w/ hereditary privileges.  He fought w/ distinction in Am Rev.  Went to Am in his youth & fought in Rev War.  Was wounded in naval battle of Saintes.  SS took no active part in Fr Rev of 1789, though he welcomed it.  He was 29 at time.  Despite  subsequent disclaimers, SS was an active supporter of some of measures introduced by Fr Rev, but was ambivalent toward Fr Rev.  He believed old systems, Ancient Regime, was doomed & yet was averse to destruction.  But he had been more pro revolutionary than he wanted to admit:  giving up his title, & presiding at a commune.  Although his rev zeal earned him certificates of civic duty, his activities were not wholly disinterested.  He bought a low price church & émigré property.  He was arrested in 1793, but it was determined that a mistake was made & he was released in a yr.  He remained active in politics & participated in peace negotiations w/ English at Lille.  In 1814 found an enthusiastic collaborator in future historian Augustin Thierry.  Later retired from govt & financial life, & began writing & traveling, esp. to Germany, England, & Switz


 
Top

Internal
Links
  Outline on  Auguste Comte
1798 - 1857
External
Links
  -  Project:  Comte & Saint Simon Today
Link
Link
 -  Biography & Major Works  
 
 INTRODUCTION:  Comte borrowed & did not credit his predecessor, Saint Simon, & never achieved legitimacy in the University.  Later in life, became somewhat of a megalomaniac & wanted to establish the "Priesthood of Sociology"  
  SUMMARY:  Comte developed the concepts of
Social statics:  forces for stability & cooperation
Social dynamics:  forces for conflict & change
Founded positivism & originated the concept & label of soc. 
Sought to discover laws that governed evolution of the mind		  
  Comte is known as the Father of Sociology & he coined the term sociology about 150 years ago  
  Comte was a French social thinker & philosopher who founded the philosophy of positivism, & originated a concept of social science known as sociology  
  COMTE WAS ONE OF THE 1st TO RECOGNIZE THE IMPORTANCE OF THE MIDDLE CLASS FOR MODERN SOCIETY   
 
 Comte's most important idea is his belief that the middle class would be the core of the new society  
 
 Comte was conservative:  he wanted to preserve the status quo of the middle class, which was just emerging & consolidating  
  COMTE DEVELOPED POSITIVISM, A SCIENCE FOCUSED ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF SOCIETY   
  Comte wanted to know the nature of human society, how it grew, how it developed  
  Comte's writings reflect a high interest in human knowledge & how people learn  
  Comte embraced & advocated the concept of positivism  
 
 Positivism was a reaction to negativism of the Enlightenment  
  Comte's positive philosophy was a repudiation of the negative philosophy of the Enlightenment & the Fr. Revolution  
  Durkheim acknowledges Saint-Simon's positivism, placing it btwn metaphysics & specialized sciences  
  Saint Simon developed the ideas of positivism, industrialism, internationalism, &  a "new religion"  before 1814  
  Positivism is roundly criticized today as supporting status quo relationships, eschewing social change   
 
 COMTE BELIEVED IN THE INEVITABILITY OF SOCIAL EVOLUTION 
 
  Each stage in the evolutionary development of society was necessary, & improved social conditions must come about slowly, stage by stage  
  Later on we see Comte's idea of necessary development in Marx  
  Comte saw deplorable state of anarchy & hoped "social physics" would bring order out of chaos  
  Order & progress, which the ancients thought were irreconcilable, must be united  
  In his six volume work, The Course of Positive Philosophy (1830-1842), he framed his "law of the three states."   
  In the law of three stages, Comte advanced the idea that people try to understand phenomena in three ways  
  Comte, from Saint Simon, saw three stages of social development, the theological, the metaphysical, & positivism  
 
 a. In the theological stage, actors in society seek a supernatural, non-scientific view  
  b. In the metaphysical stage, actors in society seek an abstract, non-scientific view that is usually idealistic or logical in terms of causes & principles  
  c. In the positivism stage, actors in society seek an explanation derived from an objective examination of phenomena  
  FOR COMTE, SOCIETY EVOLVED ITS MANNER OF THINKING FROM RELIGIOUS, TO METAPHYSICAL, TO SCIENTIFIC   
  Comte believed that people first seek a theological or supernatural explanation; then a metaphysical or abstract explanation; & finally a positive explanation  
  The positive explanation is derived from an objective examination of the phenomena  
  Comte believed that students should concern themselves only w/ phenomena that have an objective, "positive," existence  
  This belief forms a basis of positivism  
 
 While the term positivism is still in use today, synonyms for positivism might include science or modernity   
  FOR COMTE, SOCIAL CHANGE IS A MIXING OF THE OLD & THE NEW, & HAD HISTLY DEMONSTRATED 'PROGRESS'  
 
 For Comte, every stage has two factions including the     old order    &     the new order  
  Comte was know for his conception of the ideas of social statics & social dynamics  
  For Comte, social statics are forces for stability & cooperation  
  For Comte, social dynamics are forces for both conflict & change  
  Comte, like Saint Simon, appreciated feudal theological order because feudal theological order facilitated development of new order  
  Comte believed it was impossible to return to feudalism. (Bonald believed that it was possible)   
  Comte saw the development of society as the synthesis of opposing ideas through which order & progress must be achieved   
  For Comte, science & industry are the main causes of decline of feudal theological order  
  For Comte, the industrial spirit prevents recurrence of the feudal military spirit   
  Comte sought to discover the laws that he believed governed the evolution of the mind  
  Comte believed that the progress of each stage in the dev of society is inevitable & irreversible  
  The inevitability of progress was embraced by the Enlightenment thinkers, & many people today, but it is roundly rejected by the post modernists  
  Comte believed that the liberty of conscience was dogma; but it was valuable against theological dogmatism, but can never be a positive organic principle  
  FOR COMTE, SOCIETY SHOULD BE 'MANAGED' BY THE SCIENTISTS, INDLISTS, & 
RELIGIOUS LEADERS BECAUSE THE LOWER CLASSES WERE DANGEROUS / CHAOTIC 		  
  Just as physical scientists would never allow lay people to question their operations, social scientists should never allow people to question social physics  
 
 Thus, the sovereignty of the people is also negative  
  An emphasis on material considerations ( economic ) was dangerous because it roused lower classes  
  Private property brings certain evils, but remedy arises from opinions, customs & manners, not political regulations  
  For Comte, the major need in society is not to change existing institutions, but rather morality, which included acquiescence of lower classes  
  People need to cooperate, to submit to the authoritarianism of the social scientists  
  Comte found that people need to work & grow together to be happy & successful  
  Like members of an athletic team pooling their energies, people must cooperate to build effective relationships  
  Comte saw a great need for universal education to bring people together in peace & harmony, not merely to develop the intellect  
  Comte regarded all social thought as an interrelated whole, the laws of which can be found by assembling what he considered the facts  
  Comte's ideas have influenced students of historical & social theory, & of criminology, & such authors as Herbert Spencer & John Stuart Mill, who were seeking a "science of society."  

 
Top  

 

Auguste Comte
1798 - 1857
a Frenchman, spent many years studying society

Saint Simon & Comte 1814 found an enthusiastic collaborator 
     in future historian Augustin Thierry
Published a magazine L’Industrie, beginning in 1816
Next year his association w/ Thierry ended & he began work w/ Auguste Comte. 
Comte later systematized Saint-Simon's work 
Comte began as Saint-Simon's secretary, 
    & while Saint Simon used term ‘social physiology,’
    Comte coined term, sociology
Saint Simon & Comte & broke off a year before Saint-Simon's death in 1824
Ultimately Comte "borrowed" many of Saint-Simon's ideas & did not credit him
It is now recognized that Comte claimed many of Saint-Simon's ideas for his own
Later Thierry & Comte viewed these as their own ideas. 

Saint-Simon's ideas of science fulfilling the role of religion 
later lead Comte to proclaim himself pope of new positive religion

Top  
Major Works of Comte

L’Industrie

The Course of Positive Philosophy 1830-1842


 
Internal
Links

Top
  An Introduction to   Karl Marx  1818  -  1883
External
Links
  -  Project:  We Are What We Do
Link
  -  Project:  Class & False Consciousness
Link
Link
 -  Major Works & Biography of Marx  
Link
 -  Biography of Engels  
  Summary:  There are FIFTEEN of Marx's fundamental concepts
1.  Our human nature is that we are laboring/creating beings
2.  Society consists of two fundamental components:  the base & the superstructure
3.  The forces of production & relations of production determine economic relationships & thus the Base & thus society
4.  Individuals have conflicting self interests
5.  There are "contradictions" in society
6.  There is class conflict:  proletariat & bourgeoisie
7.  Conflict is the energy of social change-- of historical development
8.  There is social evolution in the form of historical development of material life
9.  Society is in a state of constant change & struggle
10.  Conflict does not always mean violence
11.  Capitalism is destructive of humanity
12.  Capitalism is alienating
13.  The upper class controls the economy
14.  Culture is shaped by the economic Base of society
15.  We have either class or false consciousness		  
  SCHOLARS DIVIDE MARX'S WORK INTO "EARLY" & "LATE" MARX BECAUSE IN HIS EARLY PERIOD 
HE WAS MORE PHILOSOPHICAL & IN HIS LATE PERIOD HE WAS MORE ECONOMICS ORIENTED 		  
  There is much debate over the differences & the significance of the differences of Marx's early & late works  
  Early Marx is generally more global & philosophical in scope & offers a more complex & humanist view of human kind  
  Late Marx is generally more focused on the mechanisms of economic systems & is considered to present a more deterministic view of human nature  
  A major debate w/in Marxism is whether Marx's system was a deterministic system or not, & which sector of society had the greatest power over human nature, the economy or culture?   
  See Also:  Economic v. Cultural Determinism  
  There is much debate over various interpretations of Marx's work  
  Early Marx is seen as a humanist w/ a social focus, & a dynamic view of human nature & social life  
  Late Marx has an economics focus & a deterministic view of human nature & social life  
  Many theorists debate whether Marxism is a deterministic system or not  
Link
 Preface: A Contribution to the Critique of Political Economy  
  See Also:   Entire preface  
  There are FIFTEEN of Marx's fundamental concepts  
Link
 1.  OUR HUMAN NATURE IS THAT WE ARE LABORING / CREATING BEINGS   
  There are many other bases of  human nature  
  Marx used the term species being for human nature  
  Marx believed our species being is undeveloped
 
  Marx believed in the perfectibility of the individual   
  2.  SOCIETY CONSISTS OF 2 FUNDAMENTAL COMPONENTS: THE BASE & THE SUPERSTRUCTURE   
  Economic relations make up the base or foundation of society  
  All other relationships make up the superstructure & are determined by the Base  
Link
 Did the so called communist countries actually change the economic foundation of their society?  
  3.  THE FORCES & RELATIONS OF PRODUCTION DETERMINE THE 
NATURE OF THE ECONOMY & THUS THE BASE & THUS SOCIETY 		  
  See Also:  Forces of Production  
  See Also:  Relations of Production  
  4.   PEOPLE, GROUPS, ETC. HAVE CONFLICTING SELF INTERESTS   
  Conflict is linked to, or over the material / economic struggle
Groups (classes) conflict because of competition over scarce resources
The major split of self interests was seen as being btwn owners & workers		  
  5.   THERE ARE "CONTRADICTIONS" IN SOCIETY   
  Contradictions are social relations that cause conflict, which may or may not be seen as unjust or simply as "the way things are"  
  Conflict, at the abstract level, is btwn classes while at the everyday or concrete level, conflict is when workers/unionists & particular capitalist firms engage in struggle  
  Examples of Contradictions:
-  social character of production -  private property
-  productive forces -  relations of production
-  production for use -  production for profit
-  production -  consumption
 
  Marx respected Hegel because, through the dialectic, he discussed an affirmative view of a phenomenon as well as its negation; i.e., its inevitable breaking up which takes account of the transient nature of things  
Link
 6.  THERE IS CLASS CONFLICT IN SOCIETY   
  The form of society is shaped by conflict btwn groups in society, as well as by the economic base   
  Marxists will see society in conflict whereas functionalists will see society as interdependent/cooperative  
  There were only two classes in Marx's day:  the bourgeoisie & the proletariat  
  The bourgeoisie, aka the owners, are those who own the means of production
The proletariat, aka the workers, are those who work with the means of production		  
  Stratification is the study of class structure today  
  A typical formulation of classes today includes the upper class, UMC, MC, LMC, LC  
  See Also:   Class Structure  
  Today, we see all classes in a struggle w/ each other
Example:  how does more pay for coal miners affect the other groups? 		  
  7.  CONFLICT IS THE ENERGY OF SOCIAL CHANGE, OF HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT   
  Conflict brings social change  
  8.  SOCIAL EVOLUTION IS THE HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT OF MATERIAL LIFE   
  Marx sees all history as the history of class struggle  
  Each historical epoch has its own contradictions & classes  
  Humanity has developed through FOUR historical phases, which will be followed by TWO more  
  - Asiatic       Egypt, China
- Ancient     Greece, Roman Empire
- Feudal       W Europe
- Capitalist   last antagonistic system
- Socialist     Marx would maintain that socialism was never estb in Russia, China, etc.
- Communist		  
  While capitalism is last antagonistic system in that there is class conflict, there will always be individual struggle & conflict  
  See Also:  An Overview of Marxist History  
  9.  SOCIETY IS IN A STATE OF CONTINUAL CHANGE & STRUGGLE   
  Equilibrium does not exist for Marx & other conflict theorists because the inherent tendency of society is toward conflict, not consensus  
  Conflict is natural, normal & useful to society  
  10.  CONFLICT DOES NOT ALWAYS MEAN VIOLENCE   
  Conflict is institutionalized so that differences can be worked out through society's channels such as unions, courts, etc.  
  Collective bargaining & civil rights panels are examples of the institutionalization of conflict  
  Violence occurs when groups become frustrated w/ society's channels to redress differences  
  Conflict eliminates social arrangements that harm society as a whole  
  Conflict offers disadvantaged groups the opportunity to improve their position in society  
 
 11.  CAPITALISM IS DESTRUCTIVE OF HUMANITY 
 
 
 The existing system of capitalism was not only preventing fulfillment of our potential, it was even depriving us of our animal needs:  food, shelter, sex, fresh air, & so on
 
 
 Hunger is a condition of deprivation imposed by people
 
 
 During Marx's time, capitalism had reduced humanity to animal laborers where the worker's needs were at the barest & most miserable level &, in fact, people were becoming less than animals
 
 
 See Also:  Economic and Philosophic Manuscripts of 1844  
 
 Market relations destroy society through TWO processes
 
  a.  creativity is destroyed because we are not creating for ourselves, but instead we are creating for the market  
  b.  the mkt concentrates wealth which creates monopoly  
  See Also:  Pac Man economics & Mkt Concentration  
 
 12.  CAPITALISM IS ALIENATING, I.E. CAUSES SEPARATION OF INDIVIDUALS & SOCIAL GROUPS   
  While both Hegel & Feuerbach discussed the nature of alienation, Marx built upon these to develop his own dialectical- material view of alienation  
  See Also:  Alienation  
 
 13.  THE UPPER CLASS CONTROL THE ECONOMY ( 50% of income )
 
 
 See Also:   Introduction on the Economic Power of the Upper Class  
  The UC controls the economy & thus the culture  
  Bill Gates controls more wealth, over $100 bb in 2000, more than the lower 20% of the population  
  In 2000, there were over 1000 billionaires in the world  
  American income distribution demonstrates that the richest 20% has more income as all the rest  
  The top 5% of the population controls more than the lower 40% of the population  
 
 American income distribution demonstrates that the richest 20% has more income as all the rest  
 
 Groups w/ advantage will attempt to preserve the status quo:  i.e. existing set of arrangements
 
 
 While society experiences conflict, in the long run, society is relatively stable, & income distribution has changed little in the last 100 yrs.
 
  14.  CULTURE IS SHAPED BY THE ECONOMIC BASE 
 
 
 By controlling the base, the upper class ( UC ) controls the superstructure & thus we have conflicting values & ideologies 
 
 
 Marx believed that the powerful promote a belief in their ideology, i.e., ideology of the UC
 
Link
 Most Am have the ideology of the rich which may be thought of as a morbid belief that they also can be rich when the cold reality is that class structure has changed only minutely in last 100 yrs.
 
 
 The media holds success stories up for workers to see
 
 
 15.  WE HAVE EITHER CLASS OR FALSE CONSCIOUSNESS 
 
 
 For Marx, we have class consciousness if we support policies that advance our interests 
 
  An example of class consciousness is when the working class supports policies in its own interest such as lower taxes for the non upper classes, the advancement of unions, universal health care, etc.  
 
 For Marx, we have false consciousness if we support policies that harm or reverse our interests
 
  An example of class consciousness is when the upper class supports policies that are not in its own interest such as the advancement of unions, capital gains taxes, inheritance taxes w/ a high deductible rate  
 
 An ideology or world view is a mental system of beliefs about reality, which may be real or ideal
 
 
 See Also:  Ideology  
 
 See Also:  Class & False Consciousness
 
 
 Conflicting ideologies often appear as a conflict of values
 
 
 For Marx, most workers support the status quo, i.e., the ideology of the upper class, & thus, they have false consciousness
 
 
 Marx viewed the development of the modern era as fraught w/ both immense problems & immense potentials
 
 
 Modernity was defined by the capitalist economy
 
 
 Modernity had developed as a result of the transition from earlier forms of society  
 
 Marx restricted himself mostly to a critique of the economic system & its deformities such as alienation, exploitation, econ collapse, monopolization, etc.  

 
Top
  


Karl Marx
1818 - 1883

Born in the German Rhineland, Marx spent most of his adult life in political  exile
He studied law in Bonn & history & phil in Berlin
He received his doctorate in philosophy from Jena in 1841

Top
  
Major works of Marx
Economic and Philosophic Manuscripts of 1844
The Communist Manifesto
Das Kapital
Thesis on Feuerbach
A Contribution to the Critique of Political Economy    1859

 
Top
  
Engels biography:  Engels was Marx's friend & colleague
Though Engels was also born in the Rhineland, 
    his father was a textile mfr. w/ interests in England
Engels moved to England to 1st work at, then manage, then own, 
    a cotton mill in Manchester
Marx & Engels met briefly in 1842, again in 1844 
From that time on they worked closely together 
From 1850 Engels provided financial  support for Marx, 
    & Marx's family after Marx died

 
Top
  
Did the so called Communist countries change their economic foundations?
Russia, China:  did they change the economic foundation?  And what was the effect on the superstructure? 
This is Marx's rationale for the development of socialism in capitalistic countries only.

 
Top
  
f.  Example of conflict in society: 
Environmentalism
Civil Rights Movement
Women's Movement
MADD

 
Top
  
n. Examples of how Culture is shaped by the economic base of society
Pretty Woman:  prostitute succeeds:  marries millionaire
Cinderella
Who wants to be a millionaire?
Lottery
Beauty Queen marries a multi-millionaire

 
Internal
Links

Top
 An Overview of    Emile Durkheim    1858  -  1917
External
Links
  -  Project:  Theory & Your Project
Link
Link
 -  Biography & Major Works  
  INTRODUCTION:  Durkheim, who is considered to be a 'father of sociology,' saw Rousseau as the father of sociology.  Saint Simon, Comte, Tocqueville & Spencer all utilized sociological concepts & some form of the scientific method, but Durkheim was first to make sociology a scientific discipline  
  SUMMARY:  For Durkheim, one of the main problem for the social sciences, which he answers w/ his theory, was 'What creates social order?'
During the modern era, there is a problem w/ maintaining social order
Durkheim makes SEVENTEEN major points
1.  Society & social behavior could & should be studied scientifically
2.  Social facts are observable 'phenomena' that allow the study of society
3.  Social cohesion is the force that unites a society, creating congruity, consistency, etc. 
4.  Mechanical solidarity is the type of cohesion based on traditional relationships 
5.  Organic solidarity is the type of cohesion based on self determination 
6.  The division of labor is the basis of organic solidarity today, in that every member participates in it & every member benefits from it 
7.  Collective consciousness consists of the knowledge, beliefs, values & norms that we hold in common 
8.  The cult of the individual represents society's unprecedented hi level of individualism 
9.  Anomie is the social condition of a weakened or absent common morality 
10.  Integration is the process of bringing new individuals & social phenomena into society 
11.  Regulation is the process of controlling, directing, or ruling society 
12.  Common morality consists of the beliefs, values, & norms that we hold in common
13.  Religion is a primary type of traditional cohesion
14.  Durkheim opposed political socialism, but believed in a greater level of cohesion or cooperation in society
15.  Occupational associations are optimal institutions for achieving social reform 
16.  Modern society was displacing traditional society & mech solidarity was dissolving, but organic solidarity is slow to develop 
17.  Organic solidarity  is not totally in effect, therefore there is a great risk of anomie & social instability 		  
 
 DURKHEIM IS A PROGRESSIVE FUNCTIONALIST:  I.E. ADVOCATED CHANGE 
& FOCUSED ON REGULATORY & INTEGRATORY PROCESSES 		  
  Saint Simon was the most influential social theorist on Durkheim's thinking  
 
 Durkheim built on Saint Simon's work of sociology as a 'science,' social evolution, etc.  
 
 Durkheim is usually categorized as a functionalist because many of his ideas have been utilized by that discipline  
  Functionalism is usually considered to be conservative, especially when compared to conflict theory  
 
 Durkheim is a progressive functionalist  
  Durkheim believed that contemporary philosophy should be constructive & organizational, NOT critical  
  Contrary to what is taught by many sociologists, Durkheim was not a conservative; Durkheim was a progressive thinker who had a deep interest in socialism & social change  
  Durkheim is less interested in economics than Marx or Weber, but like Marx & Weber, Durkheim was very interested in the industrial revolution & urbanization  
  For Durkheim, one of the main problem for the social sciences, which he answers w/ his theory, was 'What creates Social Order?'  
 
 Many issues that Durkheim studied stem from his concern w/ the inevitable results of the development of modern society
 
  There are SEVENTEEN fundamental principles of Durkheim's theory  
  1.  SOCIETY COULD & SHOULD BE STUDIED SCIENTIFICALLY 
 
 Society & social behavior can be studied scientifically  
  Durkheim was first to make sociology a scientific discipline  
  Durkheim believed that society made individuals not vice versa  
  2.  SOCIAL FACTS ARE OBSERVABLE 'PHENOMENA' THAT ALLOW THE STUDY OF SOCIETY   
 
 Social facts include relationships, institutions, groups, statistical patterns, as well as more abstract concepts like culture & social structure  
  Durkheim conceived the idea that there were such things as 'social facts' that were observable 'things' that enabled the study of society  
  Durkheim's famous 1st principle of sociology was to 'study social facts as things'   
  When Durkheim advocated study social facts as things he was advocating that social life can be analyzed as rigorously as object or events in nature   
  3.  SOCIAL COHESION IS THE FORCE THAT UNITES A SOCIETY, CREATING CONGRUITY, CONSISTENCY, ETC.  
 
 Cohesion is necessary in both pre industrial & industrial society  
  The social forces, the cohesion that holds pre industrial & industrial societies together are different  
  4.  MECHANICAL SOLIDARITY IS A TYPE OF COHESION BASED ON TRADITIONAL RELATIONSHIPS   
 
 Mechanical solidarity is the type of cohesion in pre industrial society  
  Cohesion is based on tradition culture  
  Mechanical solidarity is based on a relatively narrow division of labor, which creates relatively high level of independence combined w/ nearly all relationships being primary  
  5.  ORGANIC SOLIDARITY IS A TYPE OF COHESION BASED ON SELF DETERMINATION   
 
 Organic solidarity is the type of cohesion in industrial society  
  Cohesion is based on mutual interdependence  
  Organic Solidarity is based on a very broad division of labor, which creates relatively high level of mutual interdependence combined w/ nearly all relationships being secondary  
  Durkheim considered organic solidarity to be the cement of a society  
  Much of Durkheim's theory was based on his conception of organic solidarity  
  6.  THE DIVISION OF LABOR IS THE BASIS OF ORGANIC SOLIDARITY TODAY, IN THAT 
EVERY MEMBER PARTICIPATES IN IT & EVERY MEMBER BENEFITS FROM IT 		  
 
 The division of labor is the primary type of mutual interdependence in society today  
  Durkheim elaborated on Saint Simon's scheme of the new industrial class to develop his ideas on the division of labor  
  The division of labor resulted in development of modern society ( see below )  
  Durkheim perceive the ideas behind the industrial system as possessing an inherent unity  
  7.  THE COLLECTIVE CONSCIOUSNESS CONSISTS OF THE KNOWLEDGE, 
BELIEFS, VALUES & NORMS THAT WE HOLD IN COMMON		  
  Collective consciousness is our strongly held common morality
 
  8.  THE CULT OF THE INDIVIDUAL REPRESENTS SOCIETY'S UNPRECEDENTED HIGH LEVEL OF INDIVIDUALISM   
  The cult of the individual is strongly held individual morality  
  Individualism is the opposite of collective consciousness  
  Individualism increases chance of suicide  
  The cult of the individual was a source of societal disorganization  
  9.  ANOMIE IS A WEAKENED OR ABSENT COMMON MORALITY   
  Anomie is a condition of normlessness in society  
  Durkheim coined term anomie  
  Individuals are confronted w/ anomie when they are faced w/ insufficient moral constraints  
  For Durkheim, anomie is the social condition of a weakened or absent common morality which leads to deviance, crime & possibly even social chaos / revolution  
  Modern society has made old morality obsolete, but new morality is in flux & thus weak or absent  
  Compared to the absolute power of "the old morality" people in modern era do not have a clear concept of what is & is not proper & acceptable behavior  
  10.  INTEGRATION IS THE PROCESS OF BRINGING NEW INDIVIDUALS & SOCIAL PHENOMENA INTO SOCIETY   
  Society is becoming more integrated as it develops internalized social control
 
  Integration is the degree in which collective sentiments are shared; i.e. degree to which people feel part of social groups  
  11.  REGULATION IS THE PROCESS OF CONTROLLING, DIRECTING, OR RULING SOCIETY   
  Regulation is externalized social control
 
  Regulation is the degree of external constraints on people   
  W/o regulation, a person experiences anomie  
  12.  COMMON MORALITY CONSISTS OF THE BELIEFS, VALUES, & NORMS THAT WE HOLD IN COMMON   
  Common morality decreased during the modern era  
  There is a problem w/ maintaining social order  
  Disorder was viewed, generally, as an automatic consequence of an economic system in which every individual pursues his/her own interest unless such a system had a common morality of organic solidarity, the division of labor, etc.  
  See Also:  Durkheim on Crime  
  13.  RELIGION IS A PRIMARY TYPE OF TRADITIONAL COHESION   
  The source of religion is society's shared sentiments  
  The nature of society's religions were also affected by the transition from mechanical solidarity  to [ traditional solidarity ] organic solidarity [ rational solidarity ]
 
 
 14.  DURKHEIM OPPOSED POLITICAL SOCIALISM, BUT BELIEVED IN 
A GREATER LEVEL OF COHESION OR COOPERATION IN SOCIETY 
 
  Durkheim's studies of socialism were to be an "analysis of the causes of an idea."  
  Durkheim used the concept of socialism to emphasize or highlight his theoretical scheme  
  While Durkheim was not a socialist in Marxist sense, he, like Weber, is having a debate w/ 'the ghost of Marx'  
  One cannot say merely that Durkheim opposed Marxism because he accepted many basics & rejected many others  
  Durkheim especially opposed any revolutionary doctrine, which he feared would only result in anarchy & moral disruption  
  Durkheim also refused to recognize the class character of society as being center of conflict in society, but did recognize that equalization of classes was necessary  
  In essence, Durkheim synthesized works of St. Simon & Marx  
  15.  OCCUPATIONAL ASSOCIATIONS ARE OPTIMAL INSTITUTIONS FOR ACHIEVING SOCIAL REFORM  
  Occupation associations (OAs) are similar to business unions, but have much more authority in the workplace & in society   
  OAs are organizations of professionals in a particular field who organize to advance their own interests & the interests of society  
  Today one of our most powerful OAs is the American Medical Assoc (AMA) which regulates doctors, the healthcare field for the benefit of themselves, the patient, & society as a whole   
  16.  MODERN SOCIETY WAS DISPLACING TRADITIONAL SOCIETY & MECH 
SOLIDARITY WAS DISSOLVING, BUT ORGANIC SOLIDARITY IS SLOW TO DEVELOP 		  
  Durkheim viewed the development of the modern era with hope, but later became disillusioned  
  The development of modernity was especially dangerous because it broke down traditional society, which was held together by mechanical solidarity  
  Durkheim believes that modern society is not fully developed, which is a position which Habermas now embraces  
  17.  ORGANIC SOLIDARITY IS NOT TOTALLY IN EFFECT, THEREFORE 
THERE IS A GREAT RISK OF ANOMIE & SOCIAL INSTABILITY 		  
  Because of the transition from tradl soc to mod soc, i.e. the trans from mechanical to organic solidarity, & because societies change at different rates, & because some societies have lost tradl soc but have not adopted mod soc values, we are experiencing a crisis or breakdown   
  At the personal & social level the crisis of the transition from tradl to mod society is experienced as anomie, i.e. an absence of a common morality   
  For the most part Durkheim did support the development of modernity, but after "the Great War" his son was killed & he had great doubts that modern society could ever function as well as traditional society  

 
Top  

Emile Durkheim
1858  -  1917
Born in France 
Resided in Germany
Son died in The Great War
( known today as WW I )
Deeply hurt Durkheim,
Became cynical about society & died soon after

DURKHEIM, Emile (1858-1917). A pioneer social scientist, Emile Durkheim established sociology as a separate discipline, or field of study. He was the first to subject the specific events of everyday life to close sociological study and to determine specific scientific methods of examination. 
   Emile Durkheim was born on April 15, 1858, in Epinal, France. He studied philosophy at the prestigious Ecole Normale Superieure in Paris. Upon graduation in 1882 he taught in secondary schools until 1887, when he was appointed to a lectureship especially founded for him at the University of Bordeaux. This was the first course of social science officially provided in a French university. 
   Durkheim's first book, 'The Division of Labor in Society', published in 1893, focused on the problems of new technology and the mechanization of work. This division of labor, according to Durkheim, made workers both more alien to one another, as their jobs were different, and more dependent on one another, as none any longer built the whole of a product. The methods to be used to examine society in this new discipline Durkheim laid out in 'The Rules of Sociological Method' (1895). 
   His classic 'Suicide' (1897) examines the ties that bind individuals to the society in which they live, and their breakdown. Suicide appeared to be more frequent in societies where individuals are less a part of the life around them, as in modern industrial societies. He distinguished three types of suicide: In egoistic suicide the individual shuts himself off from other human beings. Anomic suicide comes from the belief that the world has fallen apart around one. Altruistic suicide springs from great loyalty to a cause. 
   In 1902 Durkheim was appointed to the University of Paris, becoming a full professor in 1906. He taught there until his death on Nov. 15, 1917. 

---------------------------------------------------------
Excerpted from Compton's Interactive Encyclopedia
Copyright © 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997 The Learning Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Top  

Major Works of Durkheim
Suicide
The Division of Labor in Society
The Rules of Sociological Method
The Elementary Forms of Religious Life,   1915

 
External
Links
blank
Top
  An Overview of   Max Weber  1864  - 1920
External
Links
  -  Project:   Your Status, Class, & Power
Link
Link
 -  Biography & Major Works  
  SUMMARY:  There are EIGHT major ideas of Weberian sociology
1.  The major influence in modern society is the development of rationality
2.  Charisma, tradition, & rationality are all forms of authority
3.  In relation to an overview of Weber, while rationality is necessary for the dev of mod soc, it is also dominating soc
4.  The dimensions of stratification include class, power & status 
5.  Culture, like economics, affects the fundamental structure of society 
6.  History demonstrates the development of rationality
7.  Weber agreed w/ Marx on the functioning of the econ sector, but supplemented his work w/ examinations of rationality & culture 
8.  Weber believed that the development of social science methodology was needed		  
  There are EIGHT major ideas of Weberian sociology
 
  1.  THE MAJOR INFLUENCE IN MODERN SOCIETY IS THE DEVELOPMENT OF RATIONALITY 
 
 
 For Weber, rationality is a method or practice of choice based on who / what works best in achieving a given objective  
  2.  CHARISMA, TRADITION, & RATIONALITY ARE ALL FORMS OF AUTHORITY 
 
  2.1.  Charismatic authority is present when one is treated as endowed w/ supernatural, or at least exceptional powers or qualities not accessible to ordinary people  
  2.2.  Traditional authority is the claim by leaders & the belief by followers in the virtue of sanctity of age old rules & powers   
  2.3.  Legal/rational authority is a model of choice based on who / what works best in achieving a given objective  
  2.3.1.  BUREAUCRACY IS THE ULTIMATE RATIONAL SOCIAL ORGANIZATION   
  See Weber on Organizations  
  Weber believed that, conceived as a pure type, the modern bureaucratic organization has several distinctive characteristics  
  2.3.2.  Weber noted that Marx largely ignored administrative domination & organizational life
 blank
  See Also:  A comparison of Charismatic, Traditional, & Rationality Authority  
  3.  WHILE RATIONALITY IS NECESSARY FOR THE DEV OF MOD SOC, IT IS ALSO DOMINATING SOC  
  Weber viewed the development of the modern era as increasingly dominated by the "iron cage of rationality"  
  Weber called the rationalization of society, i.e. the development of the iron cage of rationality, the disenchantment of the world  
  Weber demonstrated that the disenchantment of the world had been carried out more thoroughly in the West than elsewhere  
  Weber thought the development of rationality in society was inevitable, but was extremely uncertain about the value of said development  
  For Weber, domination had been implemented, historically, through govt, i.e. political orgs  
  Weber feared that domination would become absolute through bureaucracy  
  Weber conceived of many of the dysfunctions of bureaucracy   
  Weber analyzes the role of professionals in bureaucracy & concludes that they have the best chance of breaking out of the "iron cage of rationality"  
  4.  THE DIMENSIONS OF STRATIFICATION INCLUDE CLASS, POWER, & STATUS   
  See Also:  Stratification  
  4.1.  Class, a.k.a. the economic dimension, is based on wealth & income
 
  Weber updates Marx on class by adding the middle & professional classes  
  4.2.  Power, a.k.a. the political dimension, is based on political power  
  4.3.  Status, a.k.a. the social dimension, is based on prestige, honor, etc.
 
  Weber is the first social theorist to make status important in social analysis  
  The addition of power & status to social analysis makes Weber similar to the neo Marxists   
  5.  CULTURE, LIKE ECONOMICS, AFFECTS THE FUNDAMENTAL STRUCTURE OF SOCIETY   
  Weber, contrary to Marx, believes that the cultural system affects being as much as the economic system
 
  Weber believed that all societal institutions were shaped by climate & geography as well as by the econ system  
  In the PESC, Weber finds that the economic & religious systems have mutual impacts on each other  
  The transition from ancient Judaism to Christianity enhanced the evolution of capitalism & rationality  
  China did not develop capitalism for many reasons  
  India did not develop capitalism for many reasons  
  6.  HISTORY DEMONSTRATES THE DEVELOPMENT OF RATIONALITY   
  Weber adds cultural effects to economic effects to understand history  
  Early Empire Era aka Asiatic System                         3 K - 200 BC  
  Empire Era: Ancient Slave Society: 
The Transition to Feudalism                             200 BC - 500 AD		  
  Middle Ages: Transition to Capitalism                                500 - 1300  
  Early industrial Age:  Western Capitalism                     1300 - 1700  
  7.  WEBER AGREED W/ MARX ON THE FUNCTIONING OF THE ECON SECTOR, 
BUT SUPPLEMENTED HIS WORK W/ EXAMINATIONS OF RATIONALITY & CULTURE 		  
  Weber's "debate w/ ghost of Marx" was a sympathetic debate  
  Marx examines the development & impact of the economy  
  Weber examines the development & impact of rationality  
  8.  WEBER BELIEVED THAT THE DEVELOPMENT OF SOCIAL SCIENCE METHODOLOGY WAS NEEDED   
  Weber & many other soc scientists believe that the soc sciences must distinguish themselves from phil & common knowledge by developing a methodology that allows for the creation of verifiable, objective  knowledge   
  One of Weber's major discoveries was that science cannot be value free  

 
Top  

Max Weber
1864  -  1920
( pronounced   vay ber )

Born and resided in: Germany, then Known as Prussia
Began as an historian, later converted to a full time sociologist. 

Weber studied legal and economic history at several German universities.
After a brief period as a legal assistant and on completion of his doctoral dissertation, he was appointed professor first (1894) at the University of Freiburg and then (1897) at Heidelberg. Despite a severe nervous breakdown several years later, Weber produced a body of work that established him as the foremost figure in social thought of the twentieth century.

Towards the end of his life, Weber became politically active and served on the committee that drafted the constitution of the Weimar Republic in 1918.

xrefer  Who's Who in the Twentieth Century, Oxford University Press, © Market House Books Ltd 1999

WEBER, Max (1864-1920). 'The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism', Max Weber's most controversial and stimulating book, was published in 1904-05. In it he asserted that the stern doctrines of Calvinism bred in believers a relentless commitment to one's earthly calling and an avoidance of trivial pleasures. The result was, in Protestant nations, the rapid accumulation of capital that has made possible the enormous structure of modern economic life. 
   Weber was born in Erfurt, Germany, on April 21, 1864, to an authoritarian father and strongly Calvinist mother. He was educated at the universities of Heidelberg, Berlin, and Gottingen and served briefly in the army. In 1895 he became professor of political economy at Freiburg, and the next year he went to Heidelberg in the same post. He advocated German overseas expansion as a means to raise the political consciousness of the German people. 
   Following a nervous collapse in 1898, Weber was institutionalized periodically until 1903. It was after this period that he did his most significant research. During this time he influenced sociological theory and tried to gain respect for sociology as a discipline by defining a value free methodology for it. He also argued strongly against German aims in World War I. After the war Weber helped draft the constitution of the Weimar Republic and founded the German Democratic party (see Weimar Republic). He died in Munich on June 14, 1920. 

---------------------------------------------------------
Excerpted from Compton's Interactive Encyclopedia
Copyright © 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997 The Learning Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Top  
Major Works of Weber

Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism. 1904, trans., 1930
General Economic History.
 Economy and Society.  1922; translated as Economy and Society, 1968
Methodology of the Social Sciences. (1949).

The End
 
Top