SOC 111 Lecture Notes - Lecture 2: Montesquieu, Social Fact, Philosophes
Document Summary
A statement or analytical tool that tries to explain how certain facts or variables are related in order to predict future events . What is true: assumptions about what we should do, given what we know and how we know it. Philosophical foundations of social theory: meta theoretical foundations (rational philosophy, ontological assumptions. Locke: montesquieu, rousseau, assumptions about the nature of human beings, assumptions about the nature of society, enlightenment thinkers: French philosophes: built on the rational thought of the physical sciences, advocates of critical thinking and practical knowledge. Extension of the ideas of political philosophers: hobbes. Society is prior to the individual and the focus of social analysis: components of society are inter-related and inter-dependent, modern developments (industrialization, urbanization) disorganize society and need to be regulated/controlled. Traditional elements of society serve important functions and offer stability. Primary levels of sociological analysis: macro, structural, systems level of analysis, micro, individual, small-group level of analysis.
