FREE Theories of Sociology Essay (original) (raw)

August Comte coined the termsociology? in the 1820's. Presently, there are many different theories that attempt to explain and define the way societies begin, exist, and evolve. Also, many factors influenced the development of sociology. One of the most influential impacts on sociology would be the Enlightenment. The philosophical thinkers of this period wanted to use the knowledge of how society operates to create a more perfect world. Another major influence on the development of sociology is the industrialization of society and the industrial revolution. Due to the urbanization and the class division caused by industrialism, philosophers began to think about the living conditions and overall status of society (Ritzer). They wanted to use their knowledge of society to help improve this. The counter-Enlightenment also played an integral role in the development of sociology.
There have been three general approaches sociologists have used to theorize. First, there is the idea of positivism normally associated with August Comte. Positivism is based on the concept of empiricism. Everyone must be under agreement of what our senses are telling us or in other words, sociological theory can be observed. Also, positivistic theorists take an objective view of society basically settling for what they theorize about. Second is the view of interpretive theory most commonly linked to Max Weber, critical theorists are always critical of the structures of authorities.
August Comte is regarded as thefather of sociology? and believed that sociology could be patterned after the social sciences (Ritzer). He developed the idea of universal theory of humans, which means that all societies go through what he called the law of three stages. The first stage is that of theological beliefs, that of a supernatural explanation of the world, which is dominated by priests. While positivism looks just at the situation, interpretive focuses primarily on understanding the actors involved in society.

1. Freedom Applied to Sociological Theory

Summarize the various sociological perspectives studied this semester by taking one of the following social processes: Freedom, and examining it from at least two theoretical perspectives discussed in class this semester. ... Much of what we know about society and social behavior has emerged due various sociological theories. When looking at any sociological concept, we put emphasis on the society or interrelations within that society or culture. ... Just as any other sociological concept, the concept of freedom changes and evolves within time, and throughout different environments and social ...

2. Feminist and Sociology of Education

Furthermore, the sociology of education is the study of educational structures, processes and practices from a sociological perspective, meaning that methods, theories and the appropriate sociological questions are used to better understanding the relationship between educational institutions and society, both at the macro and the micro levels (Saha, 2011). ... He gave a thought about education "to be essentially social in character and in its functions and that as a result the theory of education rates more clearly to sociology that any other science". ... However the precise meanin...

3. The Sociology of Literature

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4. Theories of Sociology

Sociology is the scientific study of human social activity. ... The conflict theory deals with people's level of wealth, or class. ... The conflict theory is unique to all other theories because it separates people into categories determined by their wealth and standards. ... The symbolic interactionist theory is another theory that plays a part in the situation of the homeless woman and her children. ... The last sociological theory is the feminist theory. ...

5. Where does Sociology come from

Some well known early founders to this discipline, such as August Comte, Karl Marx, Emile Durkheim and Max Weber, have all contributed their understanding and theory to what sociology could be. ... He saw sociology as a science and his main theory was known as "Positive philosophy" (Albrow M, 1997). ... He focused his arguments on a "Social Action" theory. ... He saw sociology as an "Action" theory and he argued that sociology should be objective and directed through the paths of ideal types. ... On a humanistic point of view, sociology is not a practice but an attempt to understand ide...

6. Theories Of Sociology

The 3 major topics sociological theories would be Symbolic Interactionism, Functional Analysis and Conflict Theory. ... The third major theory is the Conflict Theory. Conflict theory is more or less the opposite if Structural Functionalism. It is the theory of all individuals competing with one another in an effort to prevail above others. ... Conflict theory is probably a personal favorite view, as I enjoy Karl Marx and his theories in themselves. ...

7. Sociological theories

The 3 major topics of sociological theories would be Symbolic Interactionism, Functional Analysis and Conflict Theory. ... The third major theory is the Conflict Theory. Conflict theory is more or less the opposite if Structural Functionalism. It is the theory of all individuals competing with one another in an effort to prevail above others. ... Conflict theory is probably a personal favorite view, as I enjoy Karl Marx and his theories in themselves. ...

8. Sociology

Sociology The functionalist perspective is a very important part of sociology. ... Another way to understand functionalism is to look at some of the simple ways and ideas of the theory. One of the ways to see functionalism is to understand that this theory of sociology looks at facts overtime or certain things in society like crime, sports, race, etc. and examines what the world would be like if one of these aspects were to disappear. ... Durkheim studied in both France and Germany, in which later in his life became the first French professor of sociology. ... The other theory that w...

9. Sociological thinking vs commonsense thinking

Within this essay I will discuss what sociological and commonsense knowledge is and why we use this knowledge in everyday life. I will compare obvious commonsense theories with sociological evidence, and show why sociology challenges commonsense theories. ... Sociological knowledge is based on evidence rather than commonsense assumptions. ... In other words, sociological knowledge has been tested and theory developed, and these theories rely on figures and statistics. ... Sociological knowledge is therefore essential if the understanding of society is to be achieved. ...

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