The Practical Skeptic - Chapter 3

Three divisions in sociological studies:

(1.)The subject matter or topic area that sociologist chooses to study. (2.) Theoretical perspectives, or paradigms. (3.) Distinguishing between different levels of analysis

What are some topic areas to study within sociology?

Culture, Education, Race and Ethnicity, Religion, Family and Sex, Deviance, Environment, Art, Social Change, Work and occupations and Political Institutions.

Stephen Hawking

Five decades after Einstein's statement rejecting the Uncertainty principle, _________ __________ referred to black holes in space, saying: "It appears that not only does God play dice, ... he sometimes throws the dice where they cannot be seen."

What are the three Theoretical Perspectives?

Functionalist, conflict, and symbolic interactionist.

Butterfly Effect (Chaos Theory)

In meteorological studies, the sensitive dependence on initial conditions principle, is called the __________ ___________. (Based on the notion that a _________ stirring in the air today in Seattle can transform storm systems next month in Singapore.)

Ludwig Wittgenstein

Sociological phenomena is not set in stone, it can be fuzzy, Sociologists rarely make statements that sound definite."It is difficult to paint a clear picture of a fuzzy object." (Philosopher 1959)

The functionalist Paradigm

The assumption about the nature of the social world that (1.) Within a particular society, there is a great deal of consensus about what values and norms are important. (2.) Society is an entity or whole that is made up of many integrated parts when one part of society changes, other parts will change in response. (3.) Society tends to seek stability and avoid conflict. Conflict is not normal, but is dysfunctional or pathological.

Paradigm

akin to a framework or model of the world.

The Symbolic Interactionist Paradigm

assumptions about he nature of the social world that include: (1.) how people act depends on how they see and evaluate reality. (2.) People learn from others how to see and evaluate reality. (3.) People constantly work to interpret their own behavior and the behavior of others to determine what these behaviors "mean" (4.) When people do not attach the same meanings to behaviors or perceive reality in the same way there will be misunderstanding and conflict. (Sometimes called social constructionists, because of their interest of how people construct their own social worlds.)

Macrosociology

focus on broader social phenomena, such as whole social structures, systems, and institutions.

Microsociology

generally focus on the interactions of individuals and the context of those interactions.

Albert Einstein

rejected Heisenberg's Uncertainty Principle on the grounds that "God does not play dice with the universe." (1926)

Sensitive dependence on initial conditions principle

the idea that a very small initial difference may lead to an enormous change to the outcome. Chaos theorists work from this principle.

Uncertainty principle

the idea that there are important limits on science's ability to measure and predict the behavior of physical objects. (Werner Heisenberg)

The Conflict Paradigm

theories from this paradigm are usually opposite to theories from the functionalist paradigm. (1.) Within any particular society, there are subgroups of people who cherish different beliefs and have conflicting values and goals. (2.) Society is made up of subgroups that are in ruthless competition for scarce resources. (3.) Society is never harmonious; conflict is normal in a society.