aning/Definition of Sociology: ociology’ is composed of two words: socius, meaning companion ssociate or society; and logos, meaning science or study. T ymological meaning of ‘Sociology’ is thus the science/study of socie Socius + Logos = Sociology Socius = Companion/associate/society Logos=Science/Study finition of Sociology
Sociology is the science that deals with social groups, process
socialization that tends to maintain or change these forms organization and relations between groups It is the science of social institution, organization, social structur and systems as a whole. It is the study of the relationship between man and his hum environment. It is the science of human actions, interactions, group behavio associations and formal phenomena. conclusion, Sociology is the study of social phenomena, soc lationships, social interactions and social behaviour. finition of Sociology
ociology is the youngest of all the social sciences which emerged as
ndependent social science in the 19th century. he term ‘Sociology’ was coined by Auguste Comte, a French hilosopher, in 1839, who is one of the founding fathers of Sociology. Nature of Sociology
ciology, as a branch of knowledge, has its own unique nature /
aracteristics. Sociology is an independent Science t is not treated and studied as a branch of any other science. As an ndependent science it has its own field of study, boundary and method. Sociology is a social science and not a physical science. As a social science it concentrates its attention on man, his social behaviour, social activities and social life. The fact that Sociology deals with the social universe distinguishes it from astronomy, physics, chemistry, geology, mathematics and other physical sciences. Nature of Sociology
Sociology is categorical (positive) discipline not a normative
discipline. t does not make any kind of value-judgement. It is ethically neutral. The method of Sociology is systematic examination. Sociology as a discipline can’t deal with problems of God and evil, right, wrong and moral and mmoral. Sociology is relatively an abstract science and not a concrete science. Sociology is not interested in concrete manifestations of human events. I more concerned with the form of human events and their patterns. For example, Sociology is not concerned with particular wars and revolution but with war and revolution in general, a types of social conflict. Similar Sociology does not confine to a particular society or social organizations Nature of Sociology
Sociology is both rational and an empirical science.
There are two broad ways of approach to scientific knowledge. Empiricism is the approach that emphasis experience and that facts that result from observation and experimentation. Rationalism emphasizes on reason and the theories that result from logical inference. Sociology is a pure science rather than a applied science. Sociologists are concerned with the acquisition of knowledge and not the relevant application of acquired knowledge. Sociologists are less concerned w the application of acquired knowledge in the practical sense. Moreover, as a pure science, the immediate aim of sociological studies is the acquisition of knowledge concerning human society. However, the utilization of such knowledge is neither a priority nor a concern. The information acquired by th sociologists is significant to planners and policy makers though sociologists never apply them in practical life. Subject Matter of Sociology
iology is a distinct science with its own subject matter.
he major concern of sociology is sociological analysis. ociologist seeks to provide analysis of human society and culture with a ociological perspective. tudy of the primary units of social life ocial acts, social relationships, individual personality, group of all varietie ommunities (urban, rural and tribal), associations, organizations and opulations. evelopment, structure and function of a wide variety of basic ocial institutions such as family, kinship, marriage, religion, economi olitical, legal, educational institutions etc. Subject Matter of Sociology
undamental social process
o-operation, competition, accommodation, assimilation, social conflict, ocial change, social differentiation, social stratification, socialization etc. Method of research pplication of scientific method in social research. Believe on rational and mpirical rather than philosophical and idealistic. ormulating concepts, propositions and theories pecialization pecialization on the explosion of knowledge on sociology of knowledge, ociology of history, sociology of literature, knowledge, sociology of culture ociology of religion, sociology of family etc. Emergence of Sociology
ociology came to be established as an independent and a separa
cial science in the 19th century. Various factors/contexts paved t ay for its emergence. our Important Contexts/Factor for Emergence of Sociolog Political Context (French Revolution) Economic Context (Industrial Revolution) Intellectual Context (Enlightenment and Growth of Science) Religious Context olitical Context French Revolution(1789-1799)
verthrew the absolute monarchy of France (last king of France -Lou
VI) he Impact of French revolutions on many societies was enormous, a many changes resulted. Many early theorists were turned their attention towards the negative mpacts of such changes. They were particularly disturbed by the esulting chaos and disorder, especially in France and were united in esire to restore order to society. olitical Context
ome of the more extreme thinkers of this period literally wanted a
eturn to the peaceful and relatively orderly days of the Middle ages. he more sophisticated thinkers recognized that social change had made such a return impossible. Thus, they sought instead to find new ases of order in societies that had been overturned by the political evolutions of the 18th and 19th centuries. This interest in the issue o ocial order was one of the major concerns of classical sociological heorists, especially Auguste Comte and Emile Durkheim. onomic Context he Industrial Revolution & the Rise of Capitalism)
ndustrial revolution- 18th and 19th centuries throughout Europe.
ransformation of the Western World from a largely agricultural to a verwhelmingly industrial system. arge numbers of people left farms and agricultural work for the ndustrial occupations offered in the growing factories . n the capitalist system, a few profited greatly while the majority orked long hours for low wages. onomic Context
reaction against the industrial system and against capitalism in
eneral followed and led to the labor movement as well as to various adical movements aimed at overthrowing the capitalist system. he Industrial Revolution, Capitalism and the reaction against them nvolved an enormous upheaval (disturbance) in Western Society, an pheaval that affected sociologists greatly. onomic Context
Four major figures in the early history of sociological theory-Karl
Marx, Max Weber, Emile Durkheim, and Georg Simmel-were preoccupied, as were many lesser thinkers, with these changes and t problems they created for society as a whole. They spent their lives studying these problems, and in many cases they endeavored (tried) develop programs that would help solve them. As a result of the industrial revolution, large numbers of people in th 19th and 20th centuries were moved to urban settings. The expansion the cities produced many problems-overcrowding, pollution, noise, traffic and so forth. The nature of urban life and its problems attract the attention of many early sociologists, especially Max Weber and Georg Simmel. tellectual Context nlightenment, Growth of Natural Science)
nlightenment was characterized by the belief that people could comprehe
nd control the universe by means of reason and empirical research. nlightenment thinkers tended to emphasize the individual, the conservat eaction led to a major sociological interest in, and emphasis on society an ther large-scale phenomena. 9th century was a period in which natural sciences had made much progre he success attained by the natural scientists inspired and even tempted ood number of social thinkers to emulate their example. If their methods ould be successful in the physical world to understand physical or natura henomena, could they not be applied successfully to the social world to nderstand social phenomena? As an answer to this question Comte, pencer, Durkheim , Weber and other successfully demonstrated that thes methods could be used to study the social world. With the growth of natural science, thinkers started to believe on fact, logi eason and rational. They started to explore the causal relationship. eligious Context
ocial changes brought on by political revolutions, the industrial
evolution and urbanization had a profound effect on religiosity. With the growth of science traditional belief system had changed. eople started to believe on logic rather than religious faith. Many early sociologists came from religious backgrounds and were ctively, and in some cases professionally, involved in religion. omte, Durkheim, Weber and Marx studied religion sociologically. lationship between Sociology and Anthropology
he similarities Sociology and anthropology both are social sciences; both are relate to human society. Social anthropology studies social institutions, social organizations and behavior which are the subject matters of sociology also. Both sociology and anthropology are concerned with the functionin of the people within social structure. Both subject focus on empirical study method. Generally both subje use observation, questionnaire, interview, field work study method to study social subject matters. The differences Sociology Anthropology Sociology studies modern and Anthropology studies simple and complex society. primitive society. Sociology studies large society. Anthropology is related to the study smaller communities. Sociology is the study of social Anthropology is related with the stud relation and interaction. of human beings and their culture. Sociology focuses on the human Anthropology focuses on primitive groups. culture. Generally sociology uses Anthropology uses participant observation, questionnaire and observation, field study, case study a social survey. comparative study method. Sociology uses etic perspective . Anthropology uses emic perspective. lationship between Sociology and Economics
Being a social science, Both Sociology and economics have close relations with each other. The society and social subject matter are influenced by economic factors; conomic processes and economic activities are determined by the social nvironment. Generally, economics deals with the production, distribution, consumptio nd exchange of goods and services in society. Economics is concerned with material welfare and it can be obtained only with the proper knowledge of social law. Economic factors play vital role in every aspect of our social life. Religious beliefs & political ethics influence the economic activities of peo Karl Marx focuses on the unequal distribution of resources as the cause of onflicting relation in society. e differences
Sociology Economics t’s study depends upon It’s study depends upon quantitat qualitative data. data. Sociology gives priority on Economics gives priority on quitable distribution. economic growth. t is a general social science. It is a particular social science. t deals with all kinds of social Economics deals with economic elations. [wider than relations. [narrower than sociolog conomics] elationship between Sociology and Psychology
There is a close relationship between sociology and psychology.
Social psychology is one of the branches of sociology as well as psycholog It is a link between sociology and psychology. It deals with mental proces of human considered as a social being. It studies particularly the influenc group life on the mental development of individual. Social psychology has to depend on sociology to understand human natur and behavior properly. Sociology provides actual facts regarding the matt of social structure, culture and social organizations. Similarly, sociology has borrowed some concepts and method from social psychology. The study of social phenomena must have a psychological basis that help sociologists to be more effective, objective and realistic to understand human behavior properly. e differences
Sociology Psychology It studies society and social It studies individual behavior in group. society. It is a general social science. It is a particular science. Social survey, observation, Experimental method, clinical questionnaire etc. are the method and intelligence test are common methods of sociology common method to psychology Its scope is wider than Its scope is comparatively psychology. narrower than sociology. It analyses social process. It analyses the mental process. Relevance of Sociology in Management and Business Administration
he understanding of social circumstances often gives us a better
hance of controlling and handling management and business dministration. We can investigate the consequences of the adoption of particular olicy in management and business administration with the help of ociological knowledge. ociology helps managers and business administrator to understand he socio- cultural factors which are the barriers and supportive to management, administration and positive outcomes. Relevance of Sociology in Management and Business Administration
usiness administrators and entrepreneurs who have the good
nowledge of sociology are able in anticipating customers’ needs and re able to respond to the various problems. ociological knowledge helps managers and business administrator t evelop their analytical thinking and capabilities. ociology helps managers and business administrator in dealing with heir employees and customers in their workplace. ociology helps manager and administrator to establish and maintain he good public relations.
