Sociology is a study that explores human social behavior, interactions according to social relations, and groups and social structures and changes. In other words, it refers to the study of explaining how people live and why they live that way in connection with society. These central tasks in sociology include the structural characteristics of the society in which we live, the characteristics of individual social behavior patterns, and changes in social structure.
A field of interest in sociology
Sociology basically wants to analyze the social behavior that appears in the relationship between individuals and society. So, rather than paying attention to special or irregular behavior, we pay attention to regular and repetitive behavior patterns and social phenomena.
Social imagination Mills, 1959
the ability to identify the relationship between an individual's daily activities and external greater social forces that affect them.
A microscopic level in sociology
a specific action that occurs in everyday life while interacting directly with others
A macroscopic level in sociology
The main theory of sociology
positivism
An epistemological perspective and scientific philosophy that is a philosophical trend that emerged in Western Europe in the late 19th century and is based only on sensory experience and empirical verification.
a major researcher : Émile Durkheim, Auguste Comte, Max Weber
Anti-positivism
It is a theoretical position that suggests that the social domain cannot be studied by scientific research methods used in social science, and that research on the social domain requires different epistemologies, and all views contrary to positivism.
a major researcher :Max Scheler, George Simmel, Peter L. Berger
Functionalism (Functionalism, Functionalism)
Perspective of understanding social and cultural phenomena as functional relationships between components, seeing that social components contribute to the maintenance and integration of society as a whole in interdependent relationships.
It emphasizes social stability and balance, and there is a concern that social changes may be neglected while providing a theoretical basis for maintaining existing order or power relations.
a major researcher :Émile Durkheim, Talcott Parsons, Robert K. Merton
Conflict theory
Society is composed of individuals and groups, and it is a theory that argues that confrontation and competition, conflict and change are related, and it is more appropriate to explain social phenomena as conflict and division than harmony and agreement.
Representative Theory: Marxist Conflict Theory, Weber Conflict Theory
a major researcher :Karl Marx, Max Weber, Lewis Coser
Social Constructionim
It is a theory that explains whether social phenomena or consciousness are understood, created, and developed by the interaction of members of society in society, and this theory notes that social concepts or meanings are not created by individuals, but by cooperative agreements with others.
a major researcher :Peter L. Berger, Thomas Luckmann, Michael Foucault
Structuralism
The tendency of modern philosophical thought to explore the overall structure and system that ultimately defines individual behavior or perception on the premise that the meaning of an object is defined according to its relationship with other objects.
An ideological trend that began in France after the mid-20th century and influenced various disciplines. Structuralism argues that a spiritual, linguistic, cultural, and social 'structure' is created based on the interrelationships between elements, and that a true meaning for humans, objects, and culture occurs in that structure.
a major researcher :Claude Lévi-Strauss, Pierre Bourdieu, André Leroi-Gourhan)
Symbolic Interactionism
A theory that mainly pays attention to the interaction between members of society through symbols and understands social and cultural phenomena.
a representative theory of social and cultural phenomena from a microscopic perspective
a major researcher :George H. Mead, Herbert. Blumer, Charles Cooley, W. I. Thomas
Critical theory
The theory of social transformation and liberation developed by scholars of the Frankfurt School explores social power and oppression, social inequality and social justice, power supervision, and the role of ideology, seeking social change and liberation.
a major researcher :Max Horkheimer, Theodor Adorno, Jürgen Habermas
Structure and Agency
The two main determinants of social outcomes can be said to be the structure and the actor, and the theory based on the position of the relationship between the two.
1. The theory that social life is mainly determined by social structure, and that individual behavior can be explained mostly as a result of structure.
2. a theory that emphasizes the individual's ability to construct and reconstruct one's world and the need to explain it in terms of actors
3. An approach that emphasizes both the behavioral subject that can change the social structure by emphasizing the complementary points of 1 and 2 and the impact of the structure on human behavior.
a major researcher :Antony Giddens, Pierre Bourdieu,Margaret Archer
Actor-Network Theory (ANT)
The theoretical approach that all beings in the world exist in constantly changing interrelationships, whether social or natural.
A theory that sees all debates as a process in which heterogeneous "human and non-human" actors create a network by negotiating and negotiating each other's interests.
a major researcher :Bruno Latour, John Law, Michel callon
Comparison of Functional and Conflict Theory
|
functional theory |
a theory of conflict |
|
Society is structured by continuous and stable elements. |
Every society is always changing. |
|
All societies are structured in which the elements are integrated. |
Society always shows disagreement and conflict. |
|
The social structure is based on consent. |
All societies are based on coercion. |
|
All components of society perform certain functions. In other
words, it contributes to the maintenance of society as a system. |
All elements of society contribute to the breakdown and change of
society. |
In order to understand sociology, it is basically essential to understand the characteristics of sociology research subjects, major areas of interest, and major sociology theories. Various theories have existed to understand the society we live in and explain social phenomena, and will be studied and explored in the future. Through the development of various theories, we will be able to analyze the causes and consequences of social problems, lead to social change, and seek directions to solve problems in our society.
