Sociology - the scientific study of interaction among individuals in a given social

structure. It is also concerned with the levels of analysis of human interaction.

Social structure refers to patterned or recurrent social relationships.

The interplay between individuals and social structure is a two-way street. This means
people are affected or influenced by social structures and people likewise change their
social structures.

Levels of analysis - determine which aspects of social structure a sociologist wishes

to explain or examine.

Microsociology - analysis at the smaller unit or micro level of social relationships. It

is concerned with the sociological analysis of people as they interact in daily life. At
the micro level of analysis it is not the individuals per se that are important but the
interpretation of the parts they play as participants in social relationships. Example, a
person looks at the various episodes of his life when he decides to move to the city
and pursue his career despite objections from his family. The analysis looks into the
kind of interaction and its recurring pattern between that person and members of his
family.

Macrosociology - the level of analysis that focuses on relationships of social

structures without reference to the interaction of people involved. Example, how does
economy affect the stability of the family?

Uses of sociological perspective:

1. It encourages the development of the "sociological imagination".

In the study of sociology, knowledge of the ways social forces affect our lives
prevents us from being prisoners of those forces.

Sociological imagination is the set of mind that enables individuals to see the
relationship between events in their personal lives and events in the society.

Decisions both minute and momentous are not isolated, individual, unrelated matters.
2. Sociological theory and research can be applied to important public issues example
is health care and crime.

"Do sociologists as social scientists have a moral responsibility to speak against

aspects of social life they believe to be wrong?" There has been a tension between so
called value-neutral and value- laden perspective. The former argues against the
involvement of social scientists in the eradication of social ills. Hence, the conduct of
scientific research is supposed to be directed at discovering what actually exists with
no room for personal judgements as to what ought to exist. Value judgements (what is
good or bad) are not allowed to influence the conduct of scientific work. The opposite
of this view is what is upheld by value - laden perspective.

There has been a shift in perspective that gave rise to humanist sociology, the view
that places human needs and goals at the center of sociology. Thus, sociology is at the
service of the human person and society. This means sociology responds to human
needs and social goals that uphold and promote human dignity and well being of
society. Examples are evidences of social science research contributing to the making
of legal decisions, educational policies, corporate programs, etc....

3. Sociology can sharpen skills useful in other occupations.

Liberal arts courses provide the opportunity for the development of skills required for
employment in any field. Liberal arts courses teach what is known as higher order
thinking skills (learning how to learn). This refers to the ability to see structures in
apparent disorder (to see patterns cause and effect relationships underlying complex
situations) (Robert Reich, The Work of Nations, 1993). Examples:
1. Training in human relations is an asset for working in organizations (hospitals,
corporations, etc...) with culturally diverse workforce; Background in urban sociology
is useful in an urban planning agency; and Social psychology by providing knowledge
on human motivation, attitudes and behavior is useful for sales, marketing and
advertising.

V. Pioneers of Sociology

1. Auguste Comte (1798 - 1857) - Frenchman born to a government bureaucrat;

Secretary of a famous philosopher, Henri Saint Simon. Recognized as the founder of
Sociology and focused on the improvement of society. Since no science of society
ever existed in his time, he thought of creating one. He believed that if society were to
advance, social phenomenon had to be examined scientifically.

According to Comte, studying social life should rely on Positivism, the method
observation and experimentation used in the physical sciences. In his view of social
evolution Comte believed that societies evolve through three stages: Theological,
Metaphysical and positivistic.

Theological - society is governed by supernatural forces that influence human actions

and decisions. This means that there are gods and spirits that rule the world and events
are directly caused by them.
Metaphysical - society is governed by abstract forces that shape human lives.
Example is the force of gravity, time and space, democracy

Positivistic - society is governed by scientific laws and human life may be improved
through the application of scientific processes like observation and experimentation to
explain social phenomena.

2. Harriet Martineau (1802 - 1876) - Believed to be the first woman sociologist and
acknowledged by some as a founding mother of sociology. An Englishwoman born to
a solid middle class family, she is best known for her translation of Comte's Positive
Philosophy and gave original contributions in the areas of research methodology,
political economy and feminist theory.

In "How to Observe Manners and Morals" (first book on methodology) she

emphasized the use of a theoretical framework to guide social observation; the use of
predetermined questions for gathering information; the use of objectivity and
representative sampling.

In "Society in America" she favorably compared America with England but believed
America did not live up to its ideals of democracy and freedom since slavery and
domination of women existed. Hence, she stands as an important precursor of
contemporary feminist theory.

3. Herbert Spencer (1820 - 1903) - Born to an English school teacher, Spencer was
taught mostly in Mathematics and the natural sciences by his father and uncle; but had
poor background in Latin, Greek, English and History. Thus, he did not feel qualified
to enter Cambridge University.

Spencer denied Comte's influence on his work; hence, he developed his own theory of
social stability and change through the Organic Analogy theory: like humans society
is composed of interrelated parts that work together to promote its well being and
survival. Just as an individual has a brain, a stomach, a nervous system, limbs; a
society has an economy, a religion, a state and family system.

This theory is inspired by Charles Darwin's theory of evolution and thought that social
change leads to progress for as long as there is no interference since societies
according to him pass through natural stages of growth from birth to decay. Therefore,
they should be left alone as principle of natural selection takes place wherein those
inferior or weaker will perish and give way to the stronger ones. They are the ones
that will survive. Hence, Spencer did not like the idea of reform. To interfere with
society is causing harm to it. The poor therefore deserve to be poor, the rich to be rich.

4. Karl Marx (1818-1883) - Born in Germany and descended from a lineage of rabbis,
Marx preferred social activism to the abstractness of philosophy. Hence, he thought
that social scientists should seek to change the world than to merely observe it.
Through his association with Friedrich Engels, a son of a rich industrialist, Marx's
concern for democracy and humanism was channelled toward the concern for poverty
and inequality suffered by the working class.
Unlike Spencer who depicted society as a set of interrelated parts promoting its own
welfare, Marx described society as a set of conflicting groups with different values
and interests, that is the selfishness and ruthlessness of the rich owners of the means
of production (bourgeoisie) against the interest of the class of workers (proletariat).
This is the phenomenon of class conflict, the clash of the interest of owners of wealth
and those working to produce wealth at subsistence wages.

If Spencer saw progress resulting from noninterference with natural, evolutionary

processes, Marx believed in an unfolding pattern of social change that is progress in
the mode of production proceeds in linear fashion from primitive communism through
slavery to feudalism to capitalism and to communism. The transition from capitalism
to communism may be speeded up by planned revolution. He believed capitalism
would eventually self-destruct because it contains its inherent contradictions. Out of
the conflict between capitalists and workers should arise a classless emancipated
society.

5. Emile Durkheim (1858-1917) - Born into the home of a French rabbi but instead of
becoming a rabbi, he became an agnostic though he maintained his intellectual
interest in religion through out his life.

His greatest contributions were the concept of mechanical and organic solidarity. The
former refers to the social order or unity that thrives in non literate, simple societies
based on consensus of values and norms, conformity and dependence on tradition and
family. The latter refers to social order or unity found in complex, industrial societies
based on highly specialized roles of members that make them highly dependent on
one another. Organic solidarity happens as a result of social upheavals brought by
industrial and democratic revolutions.

He introduced the use of the statistical techniques in the study of human groups
following the idea of Comte that armchair sociology must be replaced by careful
observation, classification and categorization of data and use these as basis for
formulating conclusions and testing hypothesis and theories. (The study on suicide)

6. Max Weber (1864-1920) - Son of a well to do German lawyer and politician, his
father was a man who sought the pleasures of the world while his mother, was a
devout Calvinist and rejected worldly pleasures.

Family discord affected him so much that he suffered from complete mental
breakdown. But it was at this time when he was able to produce his greatest works in
the sociology of religion which reflected his mother's influence in him, one of which
is The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism.
Disagreeing with Durkheim, Weber did not favor studying individuals as though they
were physical things. His approach was subjective in emphasis based on the belief
that humans act on the basis of their own understanding of a situation. Thus the task
of the sociologist is to discover the personal meanings, values, beliefs and attitudes
underlying behavior.

To understand human subjectivity, Weber called for the use of Verstehen which is a
way to understand the subjective meanings and values of people by putting oneself
mentally in their place. In doing this, Weber was able to stress the importance of
objectivity and counseled sociologists to conduct value- free research, a research in
which personal biases are not allowed to affect or influence its conduct and outcome.

In view of religion, Marx saw religion as retarding social change whereas Weber
believed it could promote change however; they took the subject of capitalism as their
underlying theme.
Between World War II and the sixties sociologists nearly lost sight of the idea that
sociology could help solve social problems. In the sixties however, the idea of social
reform emerged as an important agenda of sociology as a growing number of them
inspired by Charles Wright Mills believed that sociology cannot remain ethically
neutral with respect to important issues but have the inherent obligation to be critical
of social arrangements and to work for social transformation.

Areas of Study in Sociology:

1. Social Organization refers to pattern of relationships between and among

different groups and individuals. Social organization could be said as the fundamental
basis of modern society, as it allows for the carrying out of very complex activities
that other members of society either participate in or are affected by. Typically, social
organizations refer to institutions like the family, school, social groups ex.
professional associations, voluntary organizations, neighborhood associations, groups
of people according to class such as the middle class, working class, underclass, upper
class, etc., religious groups, such as churches and affiliated charities, bureaucracies,
including government agencies administrative units.

2. Social Psychology emphasizes the relationship between individuals and the larger
social structures and processes in which they participate. It seeks to understand the
people who constitute social structures and how these structures influence peoples
behavior. Major areas of study in social psychology include deviance, socialization,
group dynamics, health, race and ethnicity, and gender. Example: psychological
consequences of overseas work to family life, and attitudes of minority groups to the
cultural mainstream.

3. Social Change refers to any alteration in how a society is organized. Sociologists

thus seek to explain the causes and effects of these social changes. Social change
emphasizes evolutionary explanations of society that account for how society
develops from simple to increasingly complex forms of organization.
Some key factors that influence social change:

The physical environment. e.g., climate change requiring different forms of

social organization for human adaptation.

Population changes. e.g., migrations and conquest bringing people to new

places or new situations leading to change.

Isolation and contact. Societies cut off from the larger world may change
quickly once they come into contact with outside cultures and peoples.

Technology. e.g., advances in information-communication technology and

transportation offer new possibilities for human interaction leading to change in social
organization.

Major topics of study for this field include: ecological changes, population,
migration and technological change, new production techniques, culture change,
political processes, social transformation, modernization, mass communication, and
the impact of natural disasters.

4. Human Ecology is the study of the behavior of a given population and its
interaction with the surrounding environment. Specifically, it focuses on how social
structures adapt to the quality and quantity of natural resources and to the existence of
other human groups. Example: studies showing the prevalence of mental illness,
criminality, delinquency, prostitution, and drug addiction in urban centers and other
modern, developed locales.

5. Population and Demographics is concerned with the study of population number,

composition, change, and quality and how these factors influence the larger economic,
social, and political systems. This area also focuses on things such as fertility and
mortality rates, the impact of migration on society. Examples: studies on trends in
population growth and how these trends (fertility, mortality, and migration) are related
to poverty and inequality, social services, crime, etc

6. Applied Sociology is concerned with the use of sociological principles and

approaches to solve social problems. Example: Doing sociological studies to render
recommendations to the problem regarding informal settlers, human trafficking, nurse
shortages, and poor nutrition, etc

7. Sociological Methods and Research concerns the effort to offer explanations to

social phenomena through the conduct of scientific inquiry leading to the
development of principles and theories that can explain people's actions and
behaviors.