sociological theory exam 1

Three types of electronic gatherings

-social network - civic network -fantasy worlds

French Revolution

French rev = on the idea that social harmony and order were tied to the freedom of the rational individual -ordinary citizens rather than kings would create a better world

emile durkheim

How is social order possible? (especially in the face of growing individualism) -Social solidarity (social cohesiveness and harmony) is the answer. -Collective consciousness is what determines the social solidarity -Collective consciousness is the "totality of beliefs and sentiments common to the average members of a society" -Collective consciousness is the "totality of beliefs and sentiments common to the average members of a society" -Social solidarity varies based on the differentiation of division of labor. -Durkheim distinguishes between mechanical solidarity and organic solidarity. -->Mechanical solidarity prevails in primitive societies and is based on the presence of strong 'collective consciousness' -->Organic solidarity can be seen in industrialized and urbanized societies. -This evolution of societies from mechanical to organic is marked by differentiation of division of labor (i.e., emergence of more complex and highly specialized tasks) -In organic societies lack of strong 'collective consciousness' threatens the social order. -Hence 'secondary cadres' such as occupational and professional groups provide social integration. -Contract law is a good example of collective consciousness in organic societies. (because individuals exhibit cooperation as they are bound by contract) -According to Durkheim, study of the 'law' provides empirical proof of this transformation from mechanical to organic solidarity. -Mechanical societies are characterized by repressive sanctions/laws; while in organic societies restitutive sanctions/laws prevail. -Repressive Law - more common in mechanical solidarity whereby individuals in violation of the strongly held COLLECTIVE CONSCIENCE have a greater likelihood of being punished severely. (the result of strong moral ties to the law). -Restitutive Law - more common in organic solidarity whereby individuals are asked to abide by the law or to pay restitution for violation of it in a variety of forms (the result of less emotional/moral ties to common morality or law) "Durkheim conceived society as an entity in itself that could be distinguished from, and was not reducible to, its constituent parts." Hence, society is sui generis (reality in itself; it is out there to be studied and understood) According to Durkheim, social facts are the distinctive subject matter of sociology. Social facts "consists of ways of acting, thinking, and feeling, external to the individual, and endowed with the power of coercion, by reason of which they control him." Types of social facts: o Material Social Facts - population size, density, geographical location (such as buildings or structures), written law, etc. o Non-material Social Facts - values, norms, beliefs (collective consciousness) o Social Currents - "the great movements of enthusiasm, indignation, and pity in a crowd" Suicide is one such social fact (not an individual fact). -Durkheim distinguished between types of suicide according to the relation of the actor to his society. Types of suicide: 1. Egoistic suicide o result of excessive individualism o feeling of isolation o weak cohesion and solidarity (lack of social integration) Example, urban dwellers, industrial workers, unmarried men, etc. 2. Altruistic suicide - is due to excessive integration of the individual into the group. This suicide is seen as beneficial for the society. Example, kamakazi pilots of Japan, soldiers in general, etc. (This is on the other end of the spectrum of social integration when compared to 'egoistic suicide') 3.Anomic suicide - is a result of lack of regulation of individuals' passions and desires. Example, widowhood, sudden economic changes viz., economic boom or bust, etc. * Anomie refers to the condition of relative normlessness in a whole society or in some of its components. 4. Fatalistic suicide - is a result of excessive regulation. Example, suicides of slaves, suicides in highly regimented institutions like psychiatric wards, army personnel, etc.

chapter 1

chapter 1

john locke

in contrast to hobbes idea of selfish humans -humans were originally social and cooperative -individuals were in a "state of perfect freedom and equality" before the formation of the state. -because all were free and equal in the original state of nature, no one can be put out of this estate and subjected to the political power of another without his own consent. --->human beings are social and cooperative. In the state of nature (i.e. before the formation of a civil society) they were enjoying a 'state of perfect freedom' and a 'state of perfect equality' (ppl running around naked and animals - none tells u what to do, state of perfect equality) but then they have to come to terms with the growing population and become a civil society -->just like Hobbes, Locke saw individual also as a rational being, which prompts them to unite and form a civil society in order to secure their 'liberty and property'

tradition and modernity

in western medieval world = Great Chain of Being (connection of material, human, and divine existence) - promoted by the church (rocks at bottom, god on top, humans in middle) -changes in this view began during reinesance 15th century, shift from god being supreme creator nature to the idea of god expressed in laws of nature -- many ideas of science, math and art. -by 18th century, natural law and human reason were becoming meaningful and church tried to reject it.

Two prominent ways of theorizing or explaining or reasoning:

inductive/deductive

ch 5 + 6

marx + engels

Sociological theory

-an abstract, symbolic representation of, and explanation of, social reality -like an architect who is in the planning stages -"Theories are explanations about how and why events in the universe occur. Sociological theories are thus explanations about how and why humans behave, interact, and organize themselves." - Jonathan H. Turner

Mechanisms of integration

-desire for integration(strong emotional attachment) i strong -3 mechanisms that help sustain high levels of collective activity 1)celebrating rituals -rituals produce 2 important outcomes: social ties and symbols -in electronic gatherings rituals are present: funerals, mating, flirting, tinysex, 2)gift exchange -sharing helpful links, answering information from strangers, 3)building communities of memory -keeping historical records -

-from kivistos book-

-from kivistos book-

liberals

-human beings are rational and perfectible and thus society can be improved -advocate for change

Jean-Jacques Rousseau

-thought society was formed as a result of contract among individuals. "men are born free but are in chains everywhere" - human beings are good but its society that makes us bad. -focus on drastic social change - mans original nature was corrupted by society, and the only way man could become a moral being was to transform society. - human beings are not bad by nature, it is the society that corrupts the individual • the emergence of 'private property' ruined the state of nature and introduced mankind to war and conflict, which necessitated a social contract to form civil society

Cyborg Societies

3rd durkheimian type - cyborg societies? -technological advances = contributing to new institutional divisions of labor(professional journalists and normal citizen journalists) -technological advances = contributing to changes in collective consciousness(new feelings about relationship between humans and computers are emerging) -together those changes create a new type of society - cyborg society -cyborg = individual who is part human and part machine (human- computer interactions) -bc our interactions w computers = becoming social, we may have to create new regulation and integration for cyborg interactions

philosophes and enlightenment

enlightenment thinkers put society under intense scrutiny -considered rational education and scientific understanding of self and society the routes to all human and social progress. -critical reason = happiness.

positivism

social world could be studied same manner as natural world (physics, chemistry, biology) - most scientific

thomas hobbes

-->Most of the early functionalist sociologists were driven by the Hobbesian question: how is social order possible? -social order= made by human beings and could therefore be changed by human beings - important transformation of SUBJECTS to CITIZENS -human beings are born selfish, power hungry, competitive, calculative, and if they were to be left free there will be anarchy-humans are governed by a selfish and desire for power that continues until death. -but they are also rational beings, which is why they are willing to adopt authoritarian rule (or government regulation) to maintain social order

Charles Montesquieu

--locke and hobbes theories criticized by Montesquieu. -believed in science and observation -ex: he claimed despotism occurs in hot climates. -3 types of government. -republic, monarchy, despotism. -republic: ppl have sovereign power (civic virtue) -monarchy: a single person as sovereignty in accordance w established laws (honor) -despotism: a single person, unhampered by laws and ruling by his or her own will, has sovereignty (fear) -cultural relativist- Cultural relativism is the view that all beliefs, customs, and ethics are relative to the individual within his own social context. In other words, "right" and "wrong" are culture-specific; what is considered moral in one society may be considered immoral in another, and, since no universal standard of morality exists, no one has the right to judge another society's customs.

Herbert Spencer

-A conservative sociologist, who is a proponent of positivism, evolutionism, and functionalism. -Social Laws: 1. Law of right social relationships (individual freedom) 2. Law of individuation (specialized evolutionary progress) 3. Law of organization (functional differentiation) 4. Law of adaption (social progress is functional for the society) -Evolutionism: -->Organic analogy - organic and super organic systems to describe the workings of society -organic: like living organisms, societies continuously grow - like living bodies -as societies grow, structure(organization) increases, and parts become "unalike" -parts/functions become more specialized -->super organic:biological entities are fixed, observable, "concrete whole", where as the parts of society from a whole which is are discrete from those parts - parts of a biological entity are physically tied to one another, but the parts of society are "free" Functionalism: -three types of functional systems within societies: -sustaining system (productive activities required by an organism or a society to maintain and develop itself) -regulating system (governing structures of the organism or society -distributing system (means by which sustaining system and regulating system are linked together - maintenance of relationships between parts of both biological and social organisms) -->Development in functional systems: -structural complexity -structural differentiation 1. Simple societies 2. Compound Societies 3. Doubly compound societies 4. Trebly compound societies Two contrasting organizational purposes: -industrial: benefit of its members parts- voluntary co operation -militant: member parts are subordinate to commanding center or whole "compulsory co operation" regulation of sexual relations: --Polygyny: husband has multiple wives --polyandry: woman has several husbands --monogamy: one husband one wife

August Comte

-FATHER of sociology -like other sociologists, framed his ideas in response to crisis & french rev -like saint simon, proceeded from positivism to religion -collaborated w Saint-Simon for 7 yrs -any of the ideas of Saint-Simon resonate in Comte's writings -comte coined term sociology(initially coined the term social physics, which he later changed to sociology) -comte advocated positivist philosophy -sociology was HIERARCHY of sciences Hierarchy of sciences: mathematics, astronomy, physics, chemistry, physiology, social physics- moved from study of most general, to to most particular -like simon, he believed society was organic -Comte's unique contribution lies in providing methodological parameters for sociology -->sociology should rely on 4 methods -observation of social facts -experiment: mostly 'indirect experiment' is possible in sociology to analyze social pathologies(biological or social) -comparison: 3 forms of comparison are possible in sociology- 1) Comparison of human and animal societies 2) Comparison of all existing human societies 3) Comparison of societies at different stages of development -historical analysis -->ORDER and PROGRESS are the underlying themes in studying societies. -Sociology is thus, primarily concerned with the study of: Social statics - focusing on social structure Social dynamics - looks at historical progression of societies -idea of his new science: society has a "real" existence with properties separate from and different from, those of individuals. - he is concerned more w society. -Law of human progress outlines the progress of both the society as well as human mind. -Theological or fictitious stage - marked by the centrality of the 'supernatural' - intellectual effort --military men and priests dominate, major social unit = family - order but no progress -Metaphysical or abstract stage - 'supernatural' is replaced by abstract entities (nature) -priests power challenged by lawyers, major social unit = state - offers progress, but no order (anarchy) -Scientific or positive stage - positivist philosophy or science and rational thought assumes importance -order + progress both reached w scientists and industrialists who act on behalf of major social unit = family. -->New Religion of humanity: most likely women bc of their "natural" altruistic disposition - constantly recruiting women to church. - he went from positivist to pope of religion.

Saint Simon

-lived during an upheaval, which had an effect on his thinking (economic disruptions, religious controversy) -science would take the place of religion. -social science taking a positivist turn -after the french rev, society will be restored to an organic state by science and industry -development of industrial society needed a new form of knowledge (science) to replace religion -Progress / Evolution of sciences: astronomy, physics,chemistry, biology --> study of society -societies progress through 3 stages: polytheistic (primitive stage) theological (feudal stage) modern stage (science + industry) --Modern society is an industry-oriented society -science as the new religion --Government's role - supervision of 'industrial production' --Administration's role - technocrats (scientists and managers of industrial production) Class system in industrial society: -division between producers + consumers Productive class (industrial entrepreneurs, workers, scientists, and artists) Consuming class (aristocrats, churchmen, courtiers, and rentiers) -nevitability of an 'international stage' of industrialization. -Industry beyond nationalism - "classless, international community of industrial producers" -Current global market is a good example New Christianity: -Love especially brotherly 'love for one another' is held central to this new secular religion. -Previous religion restrained egoism (self-interest) -Now: 'economic unity' should be balanced by 'spiritual unity'. (private charity must be transformed to public welfare) Three responsibilities of welfare state: -->Public works -->Free education -->Uplifting recreation

Harriet Martineau

-mostly known for translating and abridging the works of various social scientists of her time. -Her own contribution lies in expanding the rules of research methods (participant observation & data collection) -Her take on morals and manners: -everyone thought traveling and observing ppl is sufficient basis for judgement on morals and manners - this is wrong. - "powers of observation must be trained" -surface evidence can be misleading -ex: seeing someone slumped over gutter(drunk)? or heart attack - simple observation does not allow knowledge -sociologists need to acquire methodological skills that enable them to question the obvious and discover social conditions surrounding events and behaviors -manners(social interaction) and morals(cultural values and beliefs) of the society would be evaluated according to the egalitarian promise set forth in the declaration of independence --Crime and the treatment of criminals is an indicator of the morality and progress of a society --Her ideas on suicide can be found to be resonating in the later work of Durkheim. ---Staunch supporter of women's rights and emancipation of slaves.

radicals

-similar to liberals, also advocate for change but want COMPLETE change. want to get rid of the system bc its not working - a complete transformation. -similar to reactionary conservatives, but in the opposite direction. they want to overthrow the status quo in favor of a better future.

philosophical precursors of sociology

-sociology is different from other accounts b/c society is separate entity, different from science, that is constructed by human beings, and therefore subject to change. - understanding the world through reason would achieve social progress -these intellectual developments made transformations of the traditional world to a modern world, which became evident in western societies starting in 18th century. -- sociology emerged as a way of explaining and dealing w problems accompanying the gradual transformation of modernity in western society. -social observers were concerned with characteristics of modernity like capitalism, industrialization, division of labor, urbanization democracy, individual rights, and freedom. -whether modernity was considered good or bad depended on the theorists ideology regarding social transformation (liberals, conservatives, etc.)

Mechanisms of regulation

3 mechanisms of regulation on the Net: 1) defining rules of conduct -network ettiquette(netiquette) -ex: uppercase looks as if ur shouting - other norms compensate for lack of emotional context ex: :-) -other codes of conduct + terms and conditions 2)communicating rules of conduct -durkheim says regulation should exist a the level of of individual discussion group(MMOG) or civic network and not any higher level in the system 3) enforcing rules of conduct -there is no organized authority for net governance like there is a criminal justice system in real life -trolls/hackers caused more extensive use of code(protocols) to control + exlude - password systems that don't accept anonymous log ons and gated communities where only the invited have access

William Graham Sumner

Is a staunch proponent of Social Darwinism and a champion of free capitalist enterprise Folkways - everyday activities in society which have become established and are socially sanctioned(bless you) Mores - are coercive ethical principles(being a slut) Taboos - are mores that consists of things that should not be done (prohibited acts)

fact

Ralf dahrendorf - sociology had two intentions - using objective scientific methods and at the same time help achieve freedom and self fulfillment -sociology has paid for scientific ambition, but rejecting its intention to help people - became "inhuman science"

Two levels of socialization

Regulation institutional level of socialization: society controls our animal appetites by giving us a sense of duty and clear guidance about what goals to seek -individuals experience regulation as knowing their duties to the group and having feelings of obligation -informal constraints of public opinion to formally institutionalized rules/laws - the more effective the rules are, the more regulated a society is. -ex: parents, teachers, government, police = all have the power to influence an individual Integration level of socialization that occurs in the everyday life experience of interacting in groups - all societies offer opportunity for collective activity - the more regular these opportunities for group activity, the more solidaristic the group. collective activity enforces social ties, beliefs, values and norms that makes members feel duty and attachment to the group. -human emotions= very important - individuals must desire and feel pleasure and reward in these groups for social solidarity -when individuals have common interests associate, leads to the same morals - integration cannot happen if groups aren't close enough -Durkheim is critical of societies w strong state power - could result in dictatorship - -rituals = make it possible to control and attach individuals to groups even if they aren't present

social contract theories

Social contract theory, nearly as old as philosophy itself, is the view that persons' moral and/or political obligations are dependent upon a contract or agreement among them to form the society in which they live -originating during the Age of Enlightenment, that typically addresses the questions of the origin of society and the legitimacy of the authority of the state over the individual. - Thomas Hobbes - John Locke - Jean-Jacques Rousseau

Karl marx

While most of the functionalist theorists held an optimistic view of social change and progress, Karl Marx saw problems with industrial society. -Individual is viewed as homofaber (man as a creative being). It is 'work' that provides contentment and satisfaction. -In capitalism, people were separated from what was the natural work of their being and many felt disconnected from the work and things they produced. -Alienation - estrangement of human beings from nature and from the products of their activity. -4 forms of alienation: • Alienation from their work • Alienation from their product • Alienation from other people • Alienation from humanity -Karl Marx saw the importance of material conditions over ideas in understanding society. -People must go beyond thinking (ideas) and act towards appropriating what is needed to survive (food, water, shelter) -Marx was influenced by G.W.F. Hegel's dialectical method. -Dialectic is the clash of oppositions resulting in progress, especially clash of ideas leading to a fuller or more adequate mode of thought. -Ideas evolve dialectically when an existing idea (thesis) is negated (by anti-thesis) it results in a new idea (synthesis) Thesis Anti-thesis Synthesis -While Hegel is concerned with the realm of 'ideas', Karl Marx applied this dialectical method in a materialist context. -Karl Marx is known for his materialist conception of history. Historical Timeline in Six Stages: • Primitive communism - no social classes • Slavery - slave owners - slaves • Feudalism - landowners - serfs • Capitalism - bourgeoisie - proletariat • Socialism - state managers - workers • Communism - no social classes -Class struggle & Revolution: Bourgeoisie: the capitalist class Proletariat: the working class To understand these classes one must consider the means of production (i.e. tools, machinery, raw materials, factories). • Bourgeoisie own the means of production • Proletariat needs access to the means of production in order to survive • Bourgeoisie needs Proletariat labor in order to produce more products and to increase profit • they enter a contract labor for access to the means of production Marx' Labor Theory of Value: • the exchange relationship seems fair at face value • however all value comes from labor • The bourgeoisie, then EXPLOIT the proletariat - i.e., surplus labor becomes profit Class Consciousness: One of the requirements for this working class revolution to happen is - transformation of the 'proletariat' from a class in itself to a class for itself. Class in itself - is simply a collection of workers sharing a common class position but no collective awareness. Class for itself - is made up of workers with a class-conscious view of the world and ready to pursue class conflict against the capitalists. For Marx, the proletariat should achieve class consciousness in order to overthrow capitalism. Four stages in class struggle: • Realizing common (class) conditions • Developing class consciousness • Organizing themselves (praxis) • Revolution

research traditions

assumptions about how social world is organized -positivist, idealist, critical theorist

conservatives

avoid tinkering with society - reluctant towards change -status quo means "the norm", or "no change" -*status quo conservatives* call for the protection of things as how they are, do not want things to change, whereas ... *reactionary conservatives* not only do they not want things to change, but they want to go back to the past and seek to bring back tradition and the good old days.

chapter 2

chapter 2

chapter 4

chapter 4

Durkheim's two types of society

durkheim 2 types of society -mechanical and organic -organistic thinking(individuals are analogous to cells) -from organistic thinking= in the long term, organisms strive for stability+harmony - ex: in the long term, societies will reach equilibrum(perfect coordination) mechanical societies: -small simple organisms w no specialized parts - traditional villages - households all organized same way - same economics, education, family, religious structures (each part of the organisms fulfill the same functions as the other parts) -no division of labor, no diversity organic societies: complex organisms - specialized parts -modern society = no household can produce everything its members need to survive - economy depends on family and educational institutions to produce workers w a range of needed skills -complex division of labor, much diversity

political revolutions

enlightenment paved the way for many revolutions from the renaissance on -social forces that led to sociological thought: -french revolution- -industrial revolution (steam machine)- rural areas moving to urban areas. -scientific revolution- father of modern science(iaasic newton) - *sociologists heavy influenced by science*

deductive reasoning

general -> particular -method of inquiry in which a theory is accepted or rejected by empirically testing hypotheses deduced from it. - i.e., one starts with a general theory and puts it to test by looking for particular empirical observations) -Sherlock Holmes = deductive

fact

ideology is NOT a theory

falsification

karl popper - any statement is true until it is disproven

inductive reasoning

particular -> general -process by which a theory is derived by observation of empirical evidence. -i.e., one starts with particular empirical observations and come to a general conclusion

ideology

set of ideas that justify judgements about good/bad superior/inferior better/worse -legitimizes the power of a group over another.

particular ideologies

systems of knowledge that deform/conceal facts ex: "tobacco doesn't affect ur health" - distortion of facts to advantage the company

total ideologies

systems of knowledge tied to social/historical place and time of the individuals who espouse them, irrespective of good or bad intentions. ex: belief in superiority of certain race is basis of social relations

Characteristics of scientific theory (according to Jonathan H. Turner):

• Theories are always stated abstractly and formally (well-defined) • Theories always seek to transcend the particular and the time bound, and in so doing, they focus on the generic, the fundamental, the timeless, and the universal. (their focus is not just any one situation or case) • Theories are designed to be systematically tested with replicable methods.