Understanding of Sociology

Introduction to Sociology: Meaning and definition of Sociology, nature and

scope of sociology, significance of sociology, understanding of society and
social institutions: family, community, group, culture and civilization,
marriage, family, religion.

The term Sociology was first coined by August Comte, a French philosopher, in
1839. It is the youngest of all social sciences. Sociology as a separate discipline
was first started in 1876 in the United states. The word Sociology is derived from
the Latin word societus meaning ‘Society’ and the Greek word Logos meaning
‘study’ of ‘science’. The etymological meaning of Sociology is thus the ‘science
of society’ or the ‘study of society’.

Prof. Ginsberg accordingly defines it as the study of society, that is of the web or
tissue of human interactions and human relations. In other words, Sociology is
the study of man’s behavior in groups or of the interaction among human beings
of social relationships and the process by which human group activity takes place.

Why Sociology?

The most distinct feature of a human being is its social character. Aristotle, the
great Greek Philosopher, remarked that ‘Man is a social animal’. A human’s
behavior is characterized by two main forces, physical and social. The physical
force being a natural phenomenon and concrete one was easier to understand but
the social force of the human behavior still struggles for its existence.
Nevertheless, human has been trying since ancient times to take stock of their
social environment and the issues and problems created by it.

There was a need for general science which should purview the society as a whole
and ‘Sociology’ was designed to achieve its end. Thus, Sociology appeared when
it was felt that other fields of human knowledge do not fully explain human’s
social behavior. The Sociologists do not study religion and religion, art as an art,
government as a government but as the forces that maintain and control social
relationships.
Definitions of Sociology

August Comte (French Philosopher)

Sociology is a science of social phenomenon subject to natural and invariable
laws. The discovery of which is the object of investigation.

Leonard Trelawny Hobhouse (British Sociologist)

The subject matter of sociology is the inter-action of human minds.

MacIver (Scottish Sociologist)

Sociology seeks to discover the principles of cohesion and of order within the
social structure, the ways in which it roots and grows within an environment, the
moving equilibrium of changing structure and changing environment, the main
trends of the incessant change, the forces which determine its direction at any
time, the harmonies and conflicts, the adjustments and maladjustments within the
structure as they are revealed in the light of human desires, and thus, the practical
application of means to ends in the creative activities of social man.

Max Weber (German Sociologist)

Sociology is a science which attempts the interpretative understandings of social
action in order thereby to arrive at a casual explanation of its course and effects.

Nature of Sociology. Is it a science or not?

There are arguments both in favour and in against if Sociology is a science or not.
The arguments that favour Sociology not as a science are:

1) Lack of experimentation
2) Lack of objectivity
3) Lack of exactness
4) Terminological inefficiency

The arguments that favour Sociology as a science are:

1) Though Sociology cannot experiment with humans directly in a laboratory,

its social behaviour is amenable to scientific investigation as any other
natural phenomena.
2) All the physical sciences do not employ laboratory experimentation.
3) Sociology does frame laws and attempts to predict.
4) Sociology delineates cause effect relationships.
Robert Bierstedt in his book, ‘The social order’ mentioned the following
characteristics of nature of Sociology:

i) Sociology is a social and not a natural science.

ii) Sociology is a categorical or positive and not a normative
science.
iii) Sociology is a pure or theoretical science and not an applied
science.
iv) Sociology is an abstract science and not a concrete one.
v) Sociology is a generalising and not particularly science.
vi) Sociology is both a rational and an empirical science.

Scope of Sociology

Sociology is the study of human interactions and interrelations, their conditions

and consequences. Sociology has for its field the whole life of man in society, all
the activities whereby men maintained themselves in the struggle for existence,
the rules and regulations which define their relations to each other, the systems
of knowledge and belief, art and morals and any other capacities and habits
acquired and developed in the course of their activities as members of society.

There are two main thoughts among Sociologists regarding the scope of
Sociology. One group demarcates Sociology clearly from other branches of social
study and confines it to the enquiry into certain defined aspects of human
relationship. They regard Sociology as pure and independent.

The other group maintains that field of social investigation is too wide for any
one science and that if any progress is to be made, there must be specialization
and division and insists that in addition to special social sciences such as
economics, anthropology, history, etc. there is also need of a general social
science, i.e, Sociology whose function it would be to interrelate the results of the
special social sciences and to deal with the general conditions of social life.

According to Emile Durkheim, there are three branches of Sociology. They are:

a) Social Morphology-that covers the geographical settings, density of population

and other preliminary data which is likely to influence the social aspects.
b) Social Physiology-that is concerned with such dynamic processes as religion,
morals, law, economic and political aspects, etc, each of which may be the subject
matter of a special discipline.
c) General Sociology-that attempts to discover the general social laws which may
be derived from the specialised social processes.
Significance of Sociology

a) Sociology makes a scientific study of society

b) Sociology studies role of the institutions in the development of the
individuals
c) The study of Sociology is indispensable for understanding and planning of
society
d) Sociology is of great importance in the solution of problems like poverty,
beggary, unemployment, prostitution, crimes, etc.
e) Sociology has drawn our attention to the intrinsic worth and dignity of
people
f) Sociology has changed our outlook with regard to problems of crime
g) It has made great contributions to enrich human culture
h) Sociology as an academic discipline
i) Importance in underdeveloped countries

Different methods of Sociology:

a) Scientific or experimental method.
Steps-
• Observation of behaviour
• Recording
• Classification of data
• Formulation of hypothesis
• Prediction
• Problem of objectivity (Objectivity stands for remaining true to
one’s mission and not be influenced, affected or dominated by any
other feeling or factor)

b) Historical method
c) Comparative or anthropological method
d) Inverse deductive method
e) Statistical method
f) Sociometry
g) Social survey method
h) Case study method
i) Questionnaire method
j) Interview method
k) Public opinion poll method
l) Functionalism or Structural Functional method
Understanding of society and social institutions: family, community, group,
culture and civilization, marriage, family, religion.
Family

Family is a social institution. The institution of family is a basic unit in the society
and the multi-faceted functions performed by it makes it a much-needed
institution in a society. Family is regarded as an essential social institution
because it socializes children, it provides emotional and practical support for its
members, it helps regulate sexual activity and sexual reproduction, and it
provides its members with a social identity. As a social unit, a family is referred
to as “a group of persons of both sexes, related by marriage, blood or adoption,
performing roles based on age, sex and relationship, and socially distinguished as
making up a single household or a sub household”. Aileen Ross’s definition of
family includes physical, social and psychological elements of family life.

Characteristics of Family
• Family is a universal group. It is found both in primitive and modern
societies.
• Every family provides an individual with a name and hence it is a source
of nomenclature.
• Family is a unit of emotional and economic cooperation.
• Family is the group though which descent or ancestry can be traced

Functions of family

• The process of reproduction is institutionalized, regulated and controlled

in a family.
• The family legitimizes the act of production.
• Family helps in propagation of human species and perpetuation of human
race.
• Family is also an important agent of cultural transmission.

Community

A community is a social unit of people who share some commonality such as

place, norms, religion, values, customs and identity. Communities may share a
sense of belongingness to a place situated in a given geographical area or in
virtual space through communication platforms.

Characteristics of community
• A group of people
• A definite locality
• Community Sentiment
• Naturality
• Permanence
• Similarity
• Wider ends
• Total organized social life