Origins of Sociology
Origins of Sociology
Sociology began in 1800’s (19th Century) in Europe
Auguste Comte
• Father of Sociology (French)
•Wrote: Positive Philosophy
• Belief: Scientific observation to study behavior/society
• Positivism: base knowledge on truths
• Social Statics: study of social stability
• Social Stability: study of social change
Harriet Martineau
• Pioneer Feminist (English)
• Belief: emphasis on Sociology as a science
• Translated Comte’s book into English
Herbert Spencer
• Social Darwinism (English)
• Belief: evolutionary social change leads to progress
• Opposed social reform (interfered w/evolution)
Karl Marx
• Founder of Communism (German)
• Belief: conflict and social change work hand in hand
Max Weber
• Sociologist (German)
• Belief: humans act based on personal understandings
in a situation
• Verstehen: understanding social behavior by putting
yourself in the place of others
•Rationalization: use of knowledge and reason in a
situation
Emile Durkheim
• First to teach Sociology at university (French)
• First to use statistics in Sociology
• Belief: society exists based on agreement
among members of society
• Mechanical Solidarity vs. Organic Solidarity
Jane Addams
• Woman Social Reformer (American)
• Belief: problems of the poor caused by imbalance of
power among the social classes
W.E.B. DuBois
• African American educator & social activist (American)
• Focus: analyzed social structure of blacks and why
American belief was blacks are “inferior”