Introduction to Sociology

1. Introducing Sociology Sociology helps us to learn: How human societies are constructed? Where our beliefs and our daily routines come from? How our identities are formed? What influences our thoughts? How to explain social problems?

The meaning of sociology Sociology is the scientific study of human groups and social behavior. Sociologists focus primarily on human interactions, including how social relationships influence people's attitudes and how societies form and change

Sociological imagination is the ability to see the impact of social forces on individuals' private and public lives. Two approaches are used to explain sociological imagination: holistic, or multidimensional and reductionist perspective .

Sociology and common sense - Common sense is not always “common,” nor “sensible.” Common sense does not always accurately predict reality, people need something else. Not every sociological finding is revolutionary; many findings do appear consistent with common sense. Sociology is a method of inquiry that requires the systematic testing of beliefs against evidence.

The Founders of Sociology 1. Ibn Kholdun The founder of sociology more than four centuries before Auguste Comte. Remarked that the role of religion is in unifying the Arabs and bringing progress and development to their society. Societies are living organisms that experience cyclic birth, growth, maturity, decline, and ultimately death due to universal causes.

Analyzed the dynamics of group relationships and showed how group feelings, al-'Asabiyya, produce the rise of a new civilization and political power. Identified the impact of climate and available resources on migrations and social changes. Identified the impact of governmental policy and taxation on social change.

2 Auguste Comte first used the term “sociology” to refer to the scientific study of society. He believed that all societies develop and progress through the following stages: religious, metaphysical, and scientific.

3. Herbert Spencer compared society to a living organism with interdependent parts. Change in one part of society causes change in the other parts, so that every part contributes to the stability and survival of society as a whole.

4. Marx claimed that social conflict, especially class conflict, and competition. Marx believed that economics, not natural selection, determines the differences between the bourgeoisie and the proletariat. He further claimed that a society's economic system decides peoples' norms, values, mores, and religious beliefs.

5. Emile Durkheim applied scientific methods to sociology as a discipline. He stressed the importance of studying social facts, or patterns of behavior characteristic of a particular group. Durkheim certainly advocated the use of systematic observation to study sociological events, but he also recommended that sociologists avoid considering people's attitudes when explaining society

6. Weber believed that individuals' behaviors cannot exist apart from their interpretations of the meaning of their own behaviors, and that people tend to act according to these interpretations. Because of the ties between objective behavior and subjective interpretation, Weber believed that sociologists must inquire into people's thoughts, feelings, and perceptions regarding their own behaviors

Three Major Perspectives in Sociology

Complementary Perspectives in Sociology 1. The cross-species perspective considers the similarities in and differences between human social behavior and that of other animals. A comparison of social behaviors across species can provide valuable insights into the nature of human society.

2. The cross-cultural perspective deals with the comparative nature of customs and standards of behavior within a community or system. 3. The statistical perspective is based on the frequency of occurrence of an attitude or practice within a society. 4. The historical perspective deals with social issues from the point of view of historical attitudes, values, practices, and contexts.

5. The religious perspective considers the effects that religious doctrines, scriptures, and spirituality have on individuals and society. 6. The feminist perspective is concerned with gender differences and the limitations associated with traditional, male-dominated theories of society. Feminists also claim that their insights provide additional information about the experiences of both males and females.

An Integrated Perspective in Sociology Each sociological perspective clarifies some aspect of society and human behavior. Sometimes these perspectives complement each other, and sometimes they contradict each other. When integrated, however, these perspectives give sociologists the opportunity to gain the fullest possible sociological understanding.