Sociology is the scientific study of society .

[1] It is a social science (a term with which it is

sometimes synonymous) which uses various methods of empirical investigation[2] and critical analysis[3] to develop a body of knowledge about human social activity. For many sociologists the goal is to conduct research which may be applied directly to social policy and welfare, while others focus primarily on refining the theoretical understanding of social processes. Subject matter ranges from the micro level of individual agency and interaction to the macro level of systems and the social structure. Sociological reasoning predates the foundation of the discipline. Social analysis has origins in the common stock of Western knowledge and philosophy, and has been carried out from at least as early as the time of Plato. The word sociology (or "sociologie") is derived from both Latin and Greek origins. The Latin word: socius, "companion"; -ology, "the study of", and in Greek , lgos, "word", "knowledge". It was first coined in 1780 by the French essayist Emmanuel-Joseph Sieys (1748 1836) in an unpublished manuscript.[15] Sociology was later defined independently by the French philosopher of science, Auguste Comte (17981857), in 1838.

History
The idea of the sociological perspective was thought of by Peter L. Berger. He stated that the sociological perspective was seeing "the general in the particular" and that it helped sociologists realize general patterns in the behaviour of specific individuals[2] One can think of sociological perspective as our own personal choice and how the society plays a role in shaping our individual lives.[2]

History of sociology
Sociology emerged from enlightenment thought, shortly after the French Revolution, as a positivist science of society. Its genesis owed to various key movements in the philosophy of science and the philosophy of knowledge. Social analysis in a broader sense, however, has origins in the common stock of philosophy and necessarily pre-dates the field. Modern academic sociology arose as a reaction to modernity, capitalism, urbanization, rationalization, and secularization, bearing a particularly strong interest in the emergence of the modern nation state; its constituent institutions, its units of socialization, and its means of surveillance. An emphasis on the concept of modernity, rather than the Enlightenment, often distinguishes sociological discourse from that of classical political philosophy. Ancient times Sociological reasoning may be traced back at least as far as the ancient Greeks (cf. Xenophanes remark: "If horses would adore gods, these gods would resemble horses"). Proto- sociological

observations are to be found in the founding texts of Western philosophy (Herodotus, Thucydides, Plato, Polybius and so on), as well as in the non-European thought of figures such as Confucius.[2] The characteristic trends in the sociological thinking of the ancient Greeks can be traced back to the social environment. Because there was rarely any extensive or highly centralized political organization within states this allowed the tribal spirit of localism and provincialism to have free play. This tribal spirit of localism and provincialism pervaded most of the Greek thinking upon social phenomena.[3] The origin of the survey can be traced back to the Doomesday Book ordered by king William I in 1086.[4][5] There is evidence of early Muslim sociology from the 14th century. Ibn Khaldun (13321406), in his Muqaddimah (later translated as Prolegomena in Latin), the introduction to a seven volume analysis of universal history, was the first to advance social philosophy and social science in formulating theories of social cohesion and social conflict. He is thus considered by some to be the forerunner of sociology.

Sociological imagination
The term sociological imagination was coined by the American sociologist C. Wright Mills in 1959, to describe the type of insight offered by the discipline of sociology. The term is used in introductory textbooks in sociology to explain the nature of sociology and its relevance in daily life. Another way of describing sociological imagination is the understanding that social outcomes are shaped by social context, actors, and social actions. To expand on that definition, it is understanding that some things in society may lead to a certain outcome. The actors mentioned in the definition are things like norms and motives, the social context are like country and time period and the social action is the stuff we do that affects other people. The things we do are shaped by: the situation we are in, the values we have, and the way people around us act. These things are examined to how they all relate to some sort of outcome. Sociological imagination can also be considered as the capacity to see things socially, how they interact, and influence each other.

3 stages
The Law of Three Stages is an idea developed by Auguste Comte. It states that society as a whole, and each particular science, develops through three mentally conceived stages: (1) the theological stage, (2) the metaphysical stage, and (3) the positive stage. (1) The Theological stage refers to explanation by personified deities. During the earlier stages, man believed that all thee phenomena of nature are the creation of the divine or supernatural.Man and children failed to discover the natural causes of various phenomena and

hence attributed them to supernatural or divine power.[1] Comte broke this stage into 3 substages: 1A. Fetishism- Fetishism was the primary stage of the theological stage of thinking. Throughout this stage, the primitive people had a belief that inanimate object had living spirit in it, also known as animism. People worshipped inanimate objects like tress, stones, a piece of wood, etc.[2] 1B. Polytheism - The explanation of things through the use of many Gods. Primitive people believe that each natural forces were controlled by different Gods; a few examples would be God of water, God of rain and God of fire, God of air, etc.[3] 1C. Monotheism - Monotheism means believing in one God or God in one; attributing all to a single, supreme deity.[4] (2) The Metaphysical stage is the extension of theological stage. Metaphysical stage refers to explanation by impersonal abstract explanation, often people tried to believe that God is an abstract being.[5] It is believed that an abstract power or force guides and determines the events in the world. Metaphysical thinking discards belief in concrete God. The nature of enquiry was legal and rational in nature. For example; Classical Hindu Indian society where the principle of transmigration of soul, the conception of rebirth, notions of pursuant were largely governed by metaphysical uphill.[6] (3) The Positivity stage, also known as the scientific stage, refers to scientific explanation based on observation, experiment, and comparison. Positive explanations rely upon a distinct method, the scientific method, for its justification. During this stage, human tried to establish cause and effect relationship. Positivism is a purely intellectual way of looking at the world; as well it puts emphasises on observation and classification of data and facts.[7] Comte proposed a hierarchy of the sciences based on historical sequence, with areas of knowledge passing through these stages in order of complexity. The simplest and most remote areas of knowledge - mechanical or physical - become scientific first. These are followed by the more complex sciences, those considered closest to us.

Proponent Karl Heinrich Marx (5 May 1818 14 March 1883) was a German philosopher, economist,
sociologist, historian, journalist, and revolutionary socialist. His ideas played a significant role in the development of social science and the socialist political movement. He published various books during his lifetime, with the most notable being The Communist Manifesto (1848) and

Capital (18671894); some of his works were co-written with his friend and fellow German revolutionary socialist, Friedrich Engels.[4]

Herbert Spencer (27 April 1820 8 December 1903) was an English philosopher, biologist,
sociologist, and prominent classical liberal political theorist of the Victorian era. Spencer developed an all-embracing conception of evolution as the progressive development of the physical world, biological organisms, the human mind, and human culture and societies. He was "an enthusiastic exponent of evolution" and even "wrote about evolution before Darwin did."[1] As a polymath, he contributed to a wide range of subjects, including ethics, religion, anthropology, economics, political theory, philosophy, biology, sociology, and psychology.

David mile Durkheim

(April 15, 1858 November 15, 1917) was a French sociologist.

He formally established the academic discipline and, with Karl Marx and Max Weber, is commonly cited as the principal architect of modern social science and father of sociology.[1][2] Much of Durkheim's work was concerned with how societies could maintain their integrity and coherence in modernity; an era in which traditional social and religious ties are no longer assumed, and in which new social institutions have come into being. His first major sociological work was The Division of Labor in Society (1893). In 1895, he published his Rules of the Sociological Method and set up the first European department of sociology, becoming France's first professor of sociology.

Isidore Auguste Marie Franois Xavier Comte (19 January 1798 5 September
1857), better known as Auguste Comte [o yst k t , was a rench philosopher. e was a founder of the discipline of sociology and of the doctrine of positivism. He may be regarded as the first philosopher of science in the modern sense of the term. Strongly influenced by the Utopian socialist Henri Saint-Simon, Comte developed the positive philosophy in an attempt to remedy the social malaise of the French revolution, calling for a new social doctrine based on the sciences. Comte was a major influence on 19th century thought, impacting the work of social thinkers such as Karl Marx, John Stuart Mill, and George Eliot.

Maximilian Karl Emil "Max" Weber (German pronunciation: [maks veb]; 21 April
1864 14 June 1920) was a German sociologist, philosopher, and political economist who profoundly influenced social theory, social research, and the discipline of sociology itself.[1]

Weber was a key proponent of methodological antipositivism, presenting sociology as a nonempiricist field which must study social action through interpretive means based upon understanding the meanings and purposes that individuals attach to their own actions. Weber is often cited, with mile Durkheim and Karl Marx, as one of the three principal architects of modern social science.

Theories of sociology 1. Symbolic Interaction Theory

The symbolic interaction perspective, also called symbolic interactionism, is a major framework of sociological theory. This perspective relies on the symbolic meaning that people develop and rely upon in the process of social interaction.

2. Conflict Theory
Conflict theory emphasizes the role of coercion and power in producing social order. This perspective is derived from the works of Karl Marx, who saw society as fragmented into groups that compete for social and economic resources. Social order is maintained by domination, with power in the hands of those with the greatest political, economic, and social resources. 3. Functionalist Theory The functionalist perspective, also called functionalism, is one of the major theoretical perspectives in sociology. It has its origins in the works of Emile Durkheim, who was especially interested in how social order is possible or how society remains relatively stable.

4. Feminist Theory
Feminist theory is one of the major contemporary sociological theories, which analyzes the status of women and men in society with the purpose of using that knowledge to better women's lives. Feminist theory is most concerned with giving a voice to women and highlighting the various ways women have contributed to society.

5. Critical Theory
Critical theory is a type of social theory oriented toward critiquing and changing society as a whole, in contrast to traditional theory oriented only to understanding or explaining it. Critical theories aim to dig beneath the surface of social life and uncover the assumptions that keep us from a full and true understanding of how the world works.

6. Labeling Theory

Labeling theory is one of the most important approaches to understanding deviant and criminal behavior. It begins with the assumption that no act is intrinsically criminal. Definitions of criminality are established by those in power through the formulation of laws and the interpretation of those laws by police, courts, and correctional institutions.

7. Social Learning Theory

Social learning theory is a theory that attempts to explain socialization and its effect of the development of the self. It looks at the individual learning process, the formation of self, and the influence of society in socializing individuals. Social learning theory is commonly used by sociologists to explian deviance and crime.

8. Structural Strain Theory

Robert K. Merton developed the structural strain theory as an extension of the functionalist perspective on deviance. This theory traces the origins of deviance to the tensions that are caused by the gap between cultural goals and the means people have available to achieve those goals.

9. Rational Choice Theory

Economics plays a huge role in human behavior. That is, people are often motivated by money and the possibility of making a profit, calculating the likely costs and benefits of any action before deciding what to do. This way of thinking is called rational choice theory.

10. Game Theory

Game theory is a theory of social interaction, which attempts to explain the interaction people have with one another. As the name of the theory suggests, game theory sees human interaction as just that: a game.