Sociologists' Ideas

Front 1

what's kant ideas?

Back 1

Believes that human nature is unchanging and irreversible

Only know what’s on our mind (with certainty)

Make decisions based on universal, generalize moral principles.

 Freedom is something human has

 Human nature is universal

Front 2

What's Hegel's ideas

Back 2

o Social institutions and groups are important  help understand fundamental of humanity (ex. Aspire loyalty)
o Need to observe humanity if we want to understand human nature
o Humanity moves towards self-understanding

 Freedom is something achieved by society

 Human nature is social
o Morality is a matter of custom and traditions

Front 3

conderet

Back 3

o Influential in the 1900s
o Believed that human’s progress is characterized by “international, inter-class equalities, and improvement of human nature.
o Divided human’s history into 9 stages, the 10th is still coming
o Knowledge and education is important to this progress.

Front 4

saint simon

Back 4

o Believed in social scientists
 They can prevent rebellions (like wealthy does) and improve living conditions (like what the poor wants)
o Scientists have special skills and knowledge to keep society runs
 They need to design a system that makes society works and then control it.
 Scientists are so important that they should replace priests
o All traditional forms of social organizations (like aristocracy) are deficient
 Social groups have different material interests will lead to destructive conflicts if they are left to themselves (need scientists)
 Meritocracy is the ideal society
• Where it is based on ability and merit rather than wealth

Front 5

Comte

Back 5

o Considered as the “founder” of sociology
o Believed science will save the world—as important as medical science
 Necessary to cure all social ills
o Society has three stages (social physics, theological, metaphysical, and positive stage)—hierarchy that cumulates in sociology
 Sociologists should question every assumptions
 Understanding political organization is not the same as understanding social organization
o Need to develop rational and statistic observation
o Replaced authority with religion
o Very conservative, want tight control social world (women should obey, each sex has a function)
o Ideas didn’t flourish after death.

Front 6

Marx

Back 6

o Life long collaboration with Friedrich Engels
o Concern with exploitation of Masses (bourgeois are exploiting proletarians)- wrote Manifesto of Communsim
o Capitalism dehumanizes us all—bound to fall
o Bourgeois takes proletarians’ fruits of labor (e.g making a table for 8 hours just to earn a living) and turn them into profit (e.g. taking tables and selling them).
o Humanity progresses through a series of modes of production
 Each mode is a distinct arrangement of social class
 Each mode has contradiction that leads to its demise and rise of succeeding social class
o Base of society—economic structure: relations and forces of production
o Superstructure—all other social, ideological and political relations

Front 7

Durkheim

Back 7

o Believed individuals create society—create culture: norms, beliefs, morals commonly shared
 Interacting with each other, individual form society
 Society exists outside individual
 Interest are given shaped by society
 Society is going from “mechanical solidarity” to “organic solidarity’ going from “specific norms” to “abstract norms”
• Society changes (division of labor) that make our lives more different

Front 8

types of suicide

Back 8

o Types of Suicides
 Egoistic—people cant not integrate into society
 Altruistic—people sacrificed for good of the group(e.g. war)
 Anomic—rapid change in circumstances makes people’s lives uncomfortable(times of economic issues, such as depression)