SOCIOL 3A03 Lecture Notes - Social Fact, Secularism, Falsifiability
11 Jun 2014
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Lecture 1: introduction to social theory: soc 3a03 classical social theory, may 6, 2014, agenda. Introduction to the course: course outline (please have a copy with you, course description/ text/outline/ expectations, why study theory, scientific theories, enlightenment, political/economic upheavals, industrialization, capitalism, urbanization, Secularization: order and action, why study theory? (based on chapter 1 of your text) Theory is vital to making sense of social life because it holds assorted observations and facts together. Facts make sense only because we interpret them using preexisting categories and assumptions; that is, theories. The importance of formal sociological theorizing is that it makes assumptions and categories explicit; hence open to examination, scrutiny, and reformulation. Theory is a system of generalized statements or propositions about phenomena: however, there are two additional features that, together, distinguish scientific theories from other idea systems, such as those found in religion or philosophy.
