Chapter One
The Sociology as a science
(1)
TERMS
1. SCIENCE
2. SOCIAL SCIENCES
3. SOCIAL FACTS
4. SOCIOLOGY
5. PSYCHOLOGY
6. SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY
7. ECONOMICS
8. POLITICAL SCIENCE
9. SOCIAL WORK
10.HISTORY
11. ANTHROPOLOGY
12.GEOGRAPHY
Terms
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
Human society
Theological stage
Metaphysical stage
Positivistic stage
Social statistics
Social dynamics
Social laws
Value free
Evolutionary development
Mechanical solidarity
Organic solidarity
Division of labor
More terms
1. Rules of sociological method
2. The elementary forms of religious life
3. Suicide
4. Social phenomenon
5. Social system
6. Adaption to the environment
7. Goal attainment
8. Pattern maintenance
9. Integration
Origins of sociology
 Definition of sociology:
1. Sociology is the science or study of the origin,
development, organization, and functioning of human
society.
2. Sociology is part of the family of social sciences, which
includes psychology, anthropology, economics, and
political science.
Uses of Sociology
Because it is concerned with every aspect of social
life, sociology should interest every social being.
2. Even if you are not interested in a career in sociology,
it offers valuable preparation for other types of
careers.
3. Sociology can teach us to consider perspectives other
than our own and to look beyond the individual in
our efforts to understand individual behavior.
4. Sociology can help us understand ourselves and our
positions in society.
1.
Sociology and other social sciences
 Sociology and psychology:
As a very general distinction, psychology deals with individuals, and
sociology deals with what goes on among individuals.
Psychology emphasizing the personal and sociology emphasizing the
interpersonal.
 Sociology and Economics:
Economists study relationships and interactions among people also,
economists are interested in the exchange of goods and services.
Sociology has a more larger scope, sociologists study non-economic
relationships and interactions as well.
 Sociology and Political science:
Political science studies different kinds of governments and the
interpersonal processes, focusing on power relationships
among people. Power relations are important to sociology.
Sociology and other social sciences

Sociology and Social work:
Social workers help people, Sociologists study people its about understanding
more than helping.

Sociology and History:
History studies the past, while sociologists are more interested
in the present or the recent past.
Historians tell us in great detail how a particular past event
actually happened, sociologists like to compare a set of similar
events in order to find out why some turned out a way and
some another way.
Sociology and Geography:
Geography is concerned with the relationship between human beings and their
natural environment, thus geographers usually study particular areas such as
tropical forests.
Urban geographers and urban sociologists some times work together, for
example, they may team up to study the impact of various kinds of housing on
family life.

Contributors for Developing Sociology
1. Auguste Comte(1798-1857):
The father of sociology believed that society is governed
by certain social laws.
He said society tend to evolve through three stages, the
theological, the metaphysical, and the positivistic stage
or scientific stage.
2. Herbert Spencer(1820-1903):
English sociologists developed his theory of social
evolution in 1876, tried to apply the idea of biological
evolution to the study of societies.
He suggested that here is a gradual process of evolution
in the society from primitive to civilization.
He also compare society with human organism.
Contributors for Developing Sociology
3. Emile Durkheim(1858-1917):
He studied not individual but social facts and the two
main characteristics of social facts were (a) that they
were external to the individual and (b) that they
exercised constraint over his conduct.
He also tried to develop ways of classifying societies
according to their stages of evolutionary
development.
Durkheim wrote four books:
1) Rules of sociological method.
2) The elementary forms of religious life.
3) Suicide
4) The division of labor.
Contributors for developing sociology
4. Max Weber(1864-1920):
The German sociologist was interested in explaining the rise of capitalism, he believed that
systems of ideas including religions influence economic behavior more than the other way
around.
Weber argued for an approach combining sociology and psychology as social psychological
approach.
Also weber advised sociologists to be value free in their research.
5. Samuel Stouffer (1900-1960):
Established quantitative research method in modern sociology.
He is also responsible for the development of statistics for use in the social science.
6. Talcott Parsons:
He is a contemporary sociologists, he has an important influence on modern sociology.
His most important works are:
a)The social system.
b) The system of modern societies.
According to him the social system has to satisfy four basic functions:
1)
Adaptation to the environment.
2)
Goal attainment.
3)
Pattern maintenance and tension management.
4)
Integration.