Distinctiveness of sociological perspective: Sometimes an important question comes before the students of sociology. It is "How is sociology different from other social sciences, namely economics, political science, or history? In making an effort to answer this question, it will be useful to study how the founding father of sociology made efforts to carve out a sociological approach.
1. Auguste Comte (1778-1857)
1. He was born in France in 1778. Comte was greatly influenced by the social and political turmoil following the French Revolution of 1789. In his writings he directly attacked the non-scientific basis of Enlightenment, which had dominated French thought before the Revolution (i.e. 1789 A.D.)
2. Auguste Comte suggested that sociologists should use the tools of research developed by natural sciences. He developed a rational approach (scientific method) to the study of society based on observations and experiments.
3. Positivism is a method of scientific inquiry and it calls for empirical research rather than arm chair theorising.
4. Empiricism implies understanding of experience.
5. Two key concepts of sociology:
Auguste Comte's positivistic sociology have two concepts:
(i) social statics (social structures). and
(ii) social dynamics (social change).
6. Social statics: The term social statics refers to relationships among social institutions. In Auguste Comte's opinion, parts of society are connected to one another in a harmonious manner much like the parts of a biological organism.
II. Herbert Spencer (1820-1903):
(i) He was a British national. Spencer has been a strong influence in British sociology and social anthropology.
(ii) Parallel to well-known scientist Charles Darwin's Theory of Evolution, developed in his Origin of Spices, Herbert Spencer developed a theory of society. He found Charles Darwin's theories of Natural Selection and Survival of the Fittest, useful in elaborating a unified theory of social life.
(iii) Herbert Spencer's theory of social evolution holds that all societies change from simple to complex through natural processes. He opposed all types of governmental control on social life.
III. Karl Marx (1818-1883)
(i) Marx, a philosopher (thinker) and activist influenced sociology and has left a distinct mark on the thinking humanity. He thought that people should take active steps to change society.
(ii) Karl Marx advocated Praxis i.e., practice to find solutions to human problems. According to him, the forces of production and the relations of production are basic to the understanding of all structures including state, art and religion etc.
(iii) Karl Marx talked to dialectical materialism to explain change as a historical phenomenon. He suggested that the course of change implies thesis, antithesis and synthesis in the material world.
(iv) Karl Marx argued that the history of all societies is the history of class struggle. He always thought of transformation of the capitalist world into a social world where the owners of the means of production would not be in position to exploit the working class.
IV. Emile Durkhein (1858-1917)
(i) Emile Durkheim, a French national, was both a social theorist and a researcher. He was particularly interested in the study of social organisation.
(ii) Emile Durkheim's views were considered radical. Today he is perhaps best remembered for his stress on research methods and use of statistics.
V. Max Weber (1864-1920)
(i) Max Weber, a German national, was an economist and a historian. He was one of the most prominent social thinkers of the late nineteenth century.
(ii) Max Weber defined sociology as "a science, which attempts and interpretative understanding of social action in order, thereby, to arrive at a causal explanation of its course and effects."
(iii) In his book entitled the 'Methodology of Social Sciences', Max Weber observed that sociology as a discipline should adopt the method of understanding (Veastehen in German language), i.e. social action should be understood in terms of the meaning, which the actor gives to his/her actions.
