The Origins of Sociology The Founding Fathers

The Historical Context AC1.3 Explain the historical development of sociology and of the social context in which it emerged. Sociology emerged out of a period of great changes: The Enlightenment The French Revolution The Industrial Revolution

The Enlightenment The Enlightenment was a period when people such as philosophers, scientists, writers and artists began to challenge old ways of thought, in order to try and gain an understanding of the world. Previously most explanations and understandings of the world were based on religious ideas and teachings The Enlightenment thinkers rejected religious explanations, instead looking to use reason, rational thinking, and the new ‘scientific method’ to gain understanding. Video

Effects of the Enlightenment The Enlightenment changed how people saw the world and their place in it People began to challenge old ideas and old ways of living, no longer believing that everything was arranged according to God’s will. Instead, people began to feel that they could change and arrange things for the better Ideas such as this led to the French Revolution Video For a while after the French Revolution, life in France was arranged differently, with the development of communes- where decision-making, work and resources were all shared equally. This was a massive source of inspiration to Karl Marx

The Effects of the French Revolution The French Revolution had a huge effect on Marx, and Marx’s ideas brought huge changes to the world. However, it is generally thought that the biggest impact of the French Revolution came through the spread of the ideas of democracy- of the belief that life should be organised to benefit all members of a society and that all members should have a say in the running of society. Previously to this, most societies were ruled by the monarchy, according to the ‘divine right of kings’, which emphasised the belief that the events and organisation of society were a result of God’s will and therefore should not be questioned or challenged

The Industrial Revolution As we have previously seen and discussed, the Industrial Revolution brought enormous changes to the way we lived, worked and thought. People no longer lived simple lives, working for themselves in the countryside. Most of the population moved to urban areas. There was a huge growth in population People worked for others, in places like factories There were many huge technological breakthroughs and advances Work became much more specialised, requiring many new skills

Understanding Change All the changes we have discussed turned the world upside down. The old ways of living and thinking died out, or were dying out. Humans began to believe that they could and should organise and shape the world, in order to improve human life The rise in the importance of and emphasis on science and rational thought led to a desire to understand the changes to society, in order to control them and shape and improve society This was the inspiration and catalyst for the birth of Sociology

Karl Marx Marx, Durkheim and Weber are generally known and acknowledged as the ‘founding fathers’ of sociology, though they were not the first people to study society. They gained this title, because their work has had the greatest lasting impact on our understanding of the social world. Of these, Marx was the first

Marx Marx studied economics, philosophy and history; eventually developing/discovering what he claimed was a ‘law of history’ Marx believed that historical change came about through conflict between classes, due to contradictions in the economic organisation of societies, or what he called the ‘mode of production’ Although he studied the previous historical stages, his main focus was the development and impact of capitalism. Marx believed that the mode of production not only shaped the way we work, produce and distribute resources; it also determined the way we think and live. Therefore, understanding capitalism, would also enable the understanding of human beings in a capitalist society- of how human life, human consciousness and the human spirit were being warped, twisted and diminished by capitalism

Marx Although Marx focused on the negative aspects of capitalism, he thought that the technological advances that came with it would eventually enable humans to have much better lives, as it could free them from some aspects of work However, this would only happen once society had moved from the capitalist to the communist mode of production and organisation of society Marx believed that this move to communism would inevitably occur in all societies, as communism was the final stage in the historical process of change- the end point in history

Durkheim Like Marx, Durkheim believed that humans are shaped and ‘created’ by society Durkheim believed that the focus of Sociology should be the study of ‘social facts’- aspects of social life that shape our actions, such as the state of the economy or the influence of religion Social facts have a coercive power over us, because they shape our thoughts, attitudes and beliefs. Although we may think that we are freely choosing to comply with social facts such as norms and values, Durkheim argued that people usually follow patterns that are general to their society

Durkheim Durkheim was particularly interested in the constraining or controlling nature of social facts, because he was concerned with social control- how society was prevented from descending into chaos He was preoccupied with the changes brought about by capitalism and industrialisation, because he believed that they may damage social and moral solidarity Solidarity: unity or agreement of feeling or action, especially among individuals with a common interest; mutual support within a group

Durkheim Solidarity is maintained when individuals are successfully integrated into social groups and their behaviour is regulated by a set of shared values and customs Durkheim analysed the processes of social change, in order to demonstrate that the industrial revolution had contributed to a breakdown in traditional forms of solidarity

Durkheim Durkheim argued that in traditional cultures, which had very little division of labour, most people’s lives were the same. This shared experience led to shared beliefs, which was the basis of their consensus and therefore their moral and social solidarity Durkheim believed that the moral order (or conscience collective) in traditional societies was very rigid and powerful, often transmitted through the church and religion Durkheim called this ‘mechanical solidarity’, emphasizing the similarity of this kind of society to a biological organism composed of cells very similar to each other

Durkheim The forces of industrialisation and urbanization led to a growing division of labour, that contributed to a breakdown of mechanical solidarity The new specialization of tasks and increasing social differentiation would lead to a new kind of solidarity- organic solidarity Organic solidarity requires people to understand how they are interconnected and interdependent However, the rapid and intense changes that industrialisation and urbanisation brought, have such disruptive effects on lifestyles, attitudes religious beliefs and morals, that people may experience ‘anomie’- a state of aimlessness, despair and moral breakdown, which may threaten society

Max Weber Social Action Theory is associated with the work of another famous sociologist, Max Weber, the last of the three ‘founding fathers’ of sociology (along with Durkheim and Marx). Weber ’s work, which was the start of the interactionist school of sociology, focused on how capitalism developed and spread In his book The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism Weber argues that capitalism developed as a result of people’s actions and the reasons for these actions. Weber believed that capitalism developed in places where there were large concentrations of Protestants. Protestants believed that by working hard and expanding their business, they were doing God’s work - expanding the glory of God on the earth. This hard work and constant reinvestment made them very successful, which led to capitalism spreading across Europe and then the world.

Max Weber Weber believed that his research demonstrated how, instead of people being shaped by capitalism, it was the actions of people that caused the development and spread of capitalism. Most importantly, these actions were driven by the meanings that people gave to their actions - in this case, the religious beliefs of Protestants, that led them to behave the way they did. This was the birth of the sociological school of thought which became known as Interactionism. This focuses on small-scale (micro) research, concerned with interactions between individuals and the meanings that people have for their actions.