Definition and history of sociology
Definition
Simply put, sociology is the scientific study of society. Sociologists use the tools and methods of science to understand how and why humans behave the way they do when interacting together in groups. Although social groups, or societies, are made up of individual persons, sociology is the study of the group rather than the individual. When it comes to understanding how the individual human mind works, sociologists leave that up to psychologists.
Most people who call themselves “sociologists” work in universities and colleges, where they teach sociology and conduct sociological research. They ask a variety of questions about society, sometimes wanting answers just out of curiosity; however, its findings are often used to inform the decisions of policymakers, executives, and others. Many people who study sociology continue to conduct sociological research outside of academia, working for government agencies, think tanks, or private corporations. The precise and systematic study of society is useful in one way or another for almost everyone.
Studying sociology, whether you call it a “sociologist” or not, means adopting a particular view of the world: a view that the sociologist C. Wright Mills called “the sociological imagination.” You have to be willing to put aside your ideas about how the social world should work so that you can see how it really works. This does not mean that sociologists do not have personal values and opinions about the social world; They believe that to change the world, it is first necessary to understand it.
Story
Sociology is considered one of the social sciences, along with economics, psychology, anthropology, geography, and political science (among others). The social sciences were born in the 18th and 19th centuries, when people began to apply the scientific method to human life and behavior. The world was changing dramatically and rapidly as industrial production replaced agriculture, democratic republics replaced monarchies, and city life replaced country life. Realizing the amount of great knowledge that science slowly had about the natural world, people decided to try to use the same method to understand the social world.
Among the social sciences, sociology has always been unique in its ambition to understand the social world as a whole, considering all its aspects in combination and not in isolation. It’s a daunting task, and one that sociologists still struggle with today.
The first major sociologists had clear ideas about how to study and understand society; These ideas still form the basis of much sociological research and discussion today. Karl Marx emphasized the importance of physical resources and the material world; He believed that conflict over resources is at the heart of social life. Emile Durkheim emphasized cooperation rather than conflict: he was interested in the shared norms and values that make cooperative social life possible. Max Weber took ideas from both Marx and Durkheim and argued that both conflict and cooperation, both material resources and cultural values are essential to social life.
During the past century, sociologists have continued to debate the ideas of early sociologists and apply them to specific societies around the world. Thanks in large part to the influence of the “Chicago School” of sociologists in the early 20th century, sociologists today pay close attention to small groups and person-to-person interaction, as well as the vast expanse of history. Social. Today, sociologists appreciate that the big questions and the little questions about society are interrelated and that you cannot understand the macro (the big) without also understanding the micro (the small).