SOC 1101 Lecture Notes - Lecture 2: Tabula Rasa, Montesquieu, People Everyday

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19 Jun 2018
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Tuesday, January 19, 2016
Examining Society
Theory and our Everyday Life
-what is it?
- is a set go interrelated propositions constructed and fitting together logically, which claims to
explain one or more aspects of the world around us
-why is it important?
- explanations can be described as the stories we tell each each other in attempts to produce
some order in our lives
- theories outline paths that lead to particular outcomes
- they allow us to feel that we know why something happened and whether or not under what
conditions, it is likely to occur again
Aspects of a Good theory?
-logically sound
-conflicting positions
-sensitizing ability
- what has been ignored
-popularity
- popularity does not mean validity
How do we evaluate a theory?
-scope
- the range of phenomena that a theory can explain
-accuracy
- does the theory match empirical reality
-parsimony
- can the theory be falsified
Classical Sociological theory
-thomas hobbes (1588-1679)
- people are responsible for creating their social worlds
- natural state how humans existed prior to the emergence of social structures
- people are motivated by self interest and the pursuit of power
-john locke (1632-1704)
- God was responsible for the emergence of society and government
- tabula rasa people are born as blank slates
- right to self preservation and to private property
- individual autonomy and freedom
-Charles Montesquieu (1689-1755)
- people never existed outside, or without society
- humans created and defined by society
- laws define the spirit of the people; the Republic, the Monarchy and Despotism
- appreciation for cultural diversity and comparative methodology
-Jean- Jacques Rousseau (1712- 1778)
- The Social Contract: people existed in symbiotic and idyllic relationships in the natural state
- human beings are perfectible and can achieve their potential only through society
- entered into social contract free and equal individuals
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Tuesday, January 19, 2016
The Enlightenment (1650- 1799)
-challenged years of christian teachings
-philosophers advocated critical thinking and practical knowledge and built on the natural
sciences
-challenged beliefs guided in tradition
-resulted in the ability of the masses to challenge their oppressors
-reorganization of societies
-sociology was born out our of the conservative reaction against enlightenment thinking
The Birth of Sociology
-Conservatives believed that society is not the product of individuals, rather an entity in itself
1. society exists on its own
2. society produces the individual
3. individuals simply fill positions
4. smallest unit of social analysis is the family
5. parts of society are interrelated and interdependent
6. change is a threat
7. social institutions are beneficial
8. modern social changes create fear and anxiety
9. emphasis on seemingly irrational factors
10. return to social hierarchies and healthy competition
Classical Sociological Theory
-Functionalism
- social world is a dynamic system of interrelated and interdependent parts
- social structures exist to help people fulfill their wants and desires
- human society is similar to an organism, when it fails to work together the “system” will fail
- society must meet the needs of the majority
- dominant theoretical paradigm between the late 1920s and the early 1960s
Functionalists Theorists
-Herbert Spencer
- survival of the fittest justifies why only the strong should survive
- societies evolve because they need to change in order to survive
- environmental pressures allows beneficial traits to be passes on to future generations
- Social Darwinism draws upon Darwin’s idea of natural selection
- laissez- faire approach (opposes regulation of or interference with natural processes)
-Emile Durkheim
- founder of modern sociology
- human action originates in the collective rather than in the individual
- behaviour is driven by the collective conscience
- social facts are general social features that exist on their own and are independent of
individual manifestations
- anomie is a state of formlessness that results from the lack of clear goals and creates
feelings of confusion that may ultimately result in higher suicide rates
- mechanic solidarity describes early societies based on similarities and independence
- organic solidarity describes later societies organized around interdependence and the
increasing division of labour
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Document Summary

Is a set go interrelated propositions constructed and tting together logically, which claims to explain one or more aspects of the world around us. Explanations can be described as the stories we tell each each other in attempts to produce some order in our lives. Theories outline paths that lead to particular outcomes. They allow us to feel that we know why something happened and whether or not under what conditions, it is likely to occur again. The range of phenomena that a theory can explain. People are responsible for creating their social worlds. Natural state how humans existed prior to the emergence of social structures. People are motivated by self interest and the pursuit of power. God was responsible for the emergence of society and government. Tabula rasa people are born as blank slates. Right to self preservation and to private property. People never existed outside, or without society.

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