SOCL 3501 Lecture Notes - Lecture 3: Sildenafil, Subjectivism, Determinism
Document Summary
Positivistism: the application of the scientific method to the study of something: absolutism. The people who engage in it are different from conventional people. Although we don"t count teeth or measure arm length anymore, we still look at dna to see if criminals have something different: determinism. Our behavior to some extent is determined by forces (society) outside of the individual. You can play your cards however you want, but society deals them- not everyone has the same opportunities, our social status influences our choices: objectivism. We are never going to be 100% objective; our feelings influence what we study. If deviance is real, then we can study it in an objective way. Quantitative data (numbers, rates) is an objective way of doing research. No behavior is inherently good or bad. Societies have to define what is good/ bad. Context can change whether or not something is deviant. It is important to understand deviance from the actors point of view.
