SOC101Y1 Lecture Notes - Lecture 7: Erving Goffman, Behaviorism, Individualism
Document Summary
Re-cap- do we need mechanisms and sociological explanations at all? (methodological individualism) Hedstrom assume that individuals are causal agents in whole process. The second question focuses on this week"s readings and the weeks to come tradition of relational sociology taking a different stance, assumes we have to go to micro. Now we will look at a theory that refutes methodological individualism but focuses on mechanisms and individual level micro theory: background: overview of tradition of relational sociology trying to overcome dichotomy. Relational perspective in sociology is not new, has been present since classics. 2 classical authors: weber (focus on individual) and durkheim (focus on society and social integration) Rivalling approach formulated by georg simmel (contemporary of. Weber and durkheim 1858-1933) to understand his concept of sociology, it is useful to turn to nomothetic and idiographic concepts of science following model of explanation following natural science understanding laws of social reality.
