Theories Of Society

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Auguste Comte.

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Coined the term sociology and was the first person to use it. Developed a way of thinking called positivism.

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Efficient causality.

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It starts with the object and focuses on cause and effect and does not consider the ideas, thoughts or intents of people. It is the basis of the natural sciences. Example: Durkheim's social facts used efficient causality by beginning with the fact and then searching for a rule or generality that can explain those facts.

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Empiricism.

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It is the theory that knowledge comes only or primarily from sensory experiences. It emphasizes the role of experience and evidence in the formation of ideas, over the notion of innate ideas or traditions. It emphasizes that hypotheses and theories must be tested against observations of the natural world, rather than resting solely on reasoning and intuition. John Locke was a leading philosopher of British empiricism.

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Enlightenment.

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Immanuel Kant wrote an essay called "Answer to the Question: What is Enlightenment?". He said it was the movement of no longer accepting something as true on the basis of authority and to base it on reason, logic, etc. instead.

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Positivism.

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Sociology should concern itself only with what can be observed with the senses and theories should be built in a methodological way on the basis of verifiable fact. It is based on the notion of science where facts can be proven as true. Sociology becomes modeled after the natural sciences. Comte pushed for the social sciences to be positivist.

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Teleology.

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Refers to a form of causality in which people: a) have an idea, b) intention to realize that idea, c) the will, d) they find the means, and e) they actualize the idea. It is related to methodological individualism whereby individuals determine society. It comes from the Greek word telos which means end or purpose.

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Methodological Individualism.

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Society is the sum of individual intents and actions therefore, individuals create society. Social contract theory is a radical form and says the social state is nothing but individuals' decision to form society. This is opposite of what Durkheim said because he said society determines individuals.

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State of Nature.

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Part of Social Contract theory. General presupposition that there was once a society in the "state of nature" in which individuals were alone but then realized the state of nature had disadvantages and if they form a social state together, there would be benefits. The term was coined by Hobbes and used by Locke and Rousseau.

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Social Contract.

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Social Contract theory focuses on the origin of society. According to the theory, all men are born free and equal. Society came into existence because there was an agreement entered into by individuals. They exited the state of nature and entered into the social state. It assumes individuals give up their rights/liberties to an authority in exchange for preservation of their rights.

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General Will.

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Term connected to Rousseau. It is the will of the people as a whole. For it to exist, everyone must agree to it and be in equal relations to it.

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Will of All.

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Term connected to Rousseau. It is the aggregate of the particular wills of each individual and the will of the individuals in their capacity as citizens.

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Invisible Hand.

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Term connected to Smith. It describes the self-regulating behaviour of the marketplace. One's actions are regulated by the marketplace even though one does not realize it.

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Sympathies or Moral Sentiments.

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Term connected to Smith. Men are selfish but there are some principles in his nature which interest him in the fortune of others and render their happiness necessary to him even though he derives nothing from it except pleasure of seeing it. Humans are capable of feeling pain or sympathy for others, just not to the same extent. We mirror or reconstruct the experience of the person we are watching.

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Selfish Passions.

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Term connected to Smith. Misery and Joy. People want others to sympathize with their misery. Others identify with the joys of others.

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Democracy vs. Aristocracy.

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Tocqueville. Aristocratic regimes defined by inequality & hierarchy. Democratic regimes are defined by equality of relations, not wealth. Equality but not freedom.

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Equality.

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Tocqueville. Not wealth, but relations between people. There is no equality when there are inferiors and superiors. One should see themselves as equal to others, with no superiors or inferiors, and autonomous.

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Self-Interest Rightly Understood.

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Tocqueville. Differs from egoism or selfishness. Acts of individualism that act in the public good. Actions that have the intended purpose of benefiting the individual and the society.

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Social State.

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Tocqueville. Material and intellectual condition in which people find themselves in a given period. It is the primary cause of most laws. It assumes equality and that there are relatively autonomous individuals.

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Tyranny of the Majority.

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Tocqueville. Majority exercises its power against oppressed minorities using democracy. The interests of the majority are placed ahead of those of the minorities.

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Associations.

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Tocqueville. Associations are an excellent tool to combat individualism. They can have political associations and take part in politics but also associations in other parts of their life. Individuals can interact in these associations.

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Alienation.

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Marx. The process by which a labourer is made to feel distant from their own products or labour. They have no connection to their product because it belongs to the capitalist. There is no connection to their labour because it is mindless and takes no skill.

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Appropriation of the Surplus.

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Marx. It is when the ruling class takes the surplus from the labourers. It is also known as exploitation.

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Base/Superstructure

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Marx. Two parts that make up society. Base determines superstructure/superstructure determines base. Base is material and economic reality, made up of forces and relations of production. Superstructure is rest of society (political and education realms, religion, language, culture)

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Capital

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Marx. Money earned only to buy product in order to sell it for more money. It is the wealth that grows out of circulation.

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Capitalism.

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Marx. A mode of production where a few private, rich people run the markets & pay for labour from the many poor to product products to sell for capital.

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Class (Marx).

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Determined by the relation to labour and the means of production; those who work (proletariat) and those who buy labour (capitalists)

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Class Consciousness.

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Marx. Beliefs that one has about one's social class or rank in society and their class interests. Class-in-itself (having a common position in relation to the means of production) and class-for-itself (those with a common position but who act in their interests)

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Commodity.

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Marx. Product for sale on the market (material product or labour). It has a use and exchange value.

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Exchange Value.

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Marx. Represented in modern society as the monetary value. Value for trading for other commodities. A product is only a commodity if it has an exchange value; it must be sold/traded.

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Use Value.

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Marx. Human use or need that the product satisfies. It is the reason to want the commodity.

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False Consciousness.

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Marx. Systematic misrepresentation of dominant social relations in the consciousness of subordinate classes. The proletariat do not see the reality of the situation and that they are being exploited by the ruling class, the capitalists.

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Forces of Production.

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Marx. It is the human labour and technology that make the product.

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Free Labourer.

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Marx. It is when labour is separated from the need to survive. It is the right of the free labourer to enter into a contract with the capitalist for wages. Although it is a choice, free labourers work for the sake of working, not for survival

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Ideology.

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Marx. Ideas of the ruling class become ruling ideas that justify their rule. It is not totally false (propaganda). The people who speak it, believe it.

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Labour Theory of Value.

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Marx. A article is worth an exchange value due to the number of labour units it requires. More labour = more value. Some are worth more based on supply and demand (ex: Mona Lisa, oil).

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Means of Production.

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Marx. The non-human inputs used in the production process to earn capital. Ex: Machinery, tools, factories).

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Mode of Production.

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Marx. The ways that societies produce capital. Formed by forces and relations of production (classes). Ex: Feudal form, community form, capitalist form.

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Petty Commodity Production.

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Marx. Process of producing a product for sale on the market, but not in the hopes of earning capital. To earn money to buy other commodities but not intending to sell these other commodities. Personal interests, not capital.

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Relations of Production.

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Marx. Human relations one must enter in order to survive and produce. Ex: Slaves and masters, serfs and lords.

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Altruistic Suicide.

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Durkheim. One is absorbed into a community and it is demanded that they commit suicide for the good of the community. Examples: Suicide bombers. "Too tightly integrated".

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Anomic Division of Labour.

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Durkheim. An individual is isolated from others due to their repetitive, specialized tasks and no longer identify as being part of a whole.

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Anomic Suicide.

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Durkheim. Expectations are not in-line with achievements and one cannot be happy. Ex: Industrialists whose jobs invoke loss and gain of fortune quickly. "Too tightly regulated".

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Conscience Collective.

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Durkheim. Set of shared beliefs, ideas and moral attitudes which operate as a unifying force within a society.

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Cult of the Individual.

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Durkheim. An individual becomes important or sacred. The individual, not the collective, is the focus of rights and responsibilities.

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Egoistic Suicide.

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Durkheim. One does not feel integrated enough and feels isolated. Example: People married with no children. "Too loosely integrated".

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Forced Division of Labour.

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Durkheim. Division of labour does not occur spontaneously. One is not able to achieve a position that would be in-line with their natural abilities. Ex: A caste system.

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Mechanical Solidarity.

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Durkheim. A simple society with little division of labour. Typical of primitive societies. Society is like a factory, creating the same individual over and over.

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Organic Solidarity.

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Durkheim. More complex division of labour. Each individual has a task that functions like an organ and each specialized task depends on the other for survival like an organism.

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Repressive Sanctions.

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Durkheim. Linked with mechanical solidarity. Laws that refer to and reflect the collective conscience. They seek not just to deter but to also shame and punish the wrong-doer.

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Restitutive Sanctions.

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Durkheim. Linked with organic solidarity. Do not reflect collective conscience. They serve the continuing functioning of the division of labour. Example: Parking violations to maintain flow of traffic.

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Sacred/Profane.

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Durkheim. Religion should separate sacred from profane. Sacred is the collective representations that transcend the humdrum of everyday life. Profane is the mundane things like bills and jobs. Religion maintains distance between the two.

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Social Fact.

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Durkheim. Studies social facts scientifically to understand society. External to and coercive of individuals. They control how people act, think and feel. Cannot be reduced to individual acts.

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Asceticism.

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Weber. Being severely disciplined in an attempt to approach God. Other-wordly is being disciplined in an attempt to approach God by leaving the profane aspects of the world behind (ex: Nuns live in nunneries that are isolated, break off profane relations, vow poverty). Wordly is when people are concerned with being closer to God but do not leave society or profane things.

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Authority.

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Weber. Legitimate form of domination and use of power over others (no violence). Depends of subordinates willingly accepting the domination of the ruler who doesn't use violence. Three kinds: traditional, charismatic, and rational-legal.

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Bureaucracy.

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Weber. Means "rule of the offices". Specialized and positions are specialized. Everyone is treated the same under the same rules. Based on rules and procedures.

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Calvinism.

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Weber. Sect of Protestantism. Linked to Capitalism. Preaches predestination (God already knows who he is saving). Those who do well in life (riches) will do well in death. Accumulation in wealth = closer to God.

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Charismatic Authority.

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Weber. Power is legitimized by extraordinary personal abilities that inspire devotion and obedience. Occurs under extraordinary measures/crises and is short lived.

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Class (Weber).

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Structure, not a group. Market relations. Groups whose members have similar relation to given market. Classes are open and moving in between them is fairly easy.

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Ideal Type.

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Weber. Abstraction of a concept used to describe an idea of said concept. It is not what should be. Used in comparative analyses.

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Instrumental Rational Action.

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Weber. Instrumental rationality is a mode of thought and action that identifies problems and works directly towards their solution

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Interpretive Sociology.

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Weber's sociology. One starts with a subject and engages in verstehen which seeks to interpret how the subject understands the world.

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Legitimacy.

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Weber. Citizens' willingness to obey commands of the ruler.

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Methodenstreit.

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Weber. German for method dispute. Debate over methods that should be used for social sciences. Weber believed world could not be observed scientifically because we pay attention to our interests and what confirms our values.

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Rational-Legal Authority.

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Weber. Known as bureaucratic authority. Power is legitimized by legally enacted rules and regulations such as governments that apply rules and regulations to the whole public.

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Rationalization.

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Weber. Replacement of traditions, values and emotions as motivators for behaviour in society with rational, calculated ones. Weber said move was inevitable. In charismatic authority, a death of a leader ends the power of that authority and only though a rationalized and bureaucratic base can this authority be passed on. Sp

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Spirit of Capitalism.

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Weber. Attitude which seeks profit rationally and systematically. Work and accumulation for work and accumulation's sake.

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Status.

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Weber. Based on groups. Honour or group recognition. Can be a lifestyle, family origin, gender, race, ethnicity, interest. Focus of group consciousness. Can come from within or without but relatively closed.

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Traditional Action.

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Weber. Actions carried out due to tradition because they are always carried out in a particular manner for certain situations.

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Value Rational Action.

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Weber. Value-rational action (or wertrational) is a social action which is taken because it leads to a valued goal, regardless of other consequences. (The end justifies the means.)

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Verstehen.

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Weber. German word for understanding. Method of interpretive sociology in which one wants to understand how the subject being studied understands the world.

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Barbarian.

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Simmel. Negative stranger. Without and not within, distant and not near. Purely other and considered a threat.

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Commonality.

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Simmel. Characteristic or quality that helps members of a community identify with a stranger and to recognize him as a person, not a barbarian.

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Objective Culture.

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Simmel. Collection of rules, tools, symbols, etc. created by human beings. Culture developed objectively.

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Social Form.

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Simmel. Forms, rather than content. Emotions are content and expressing them through music is form. Sociologists should look like at content and more about forms. Example: Less about demands from a boss but the interaction that takes the form of the relationship of domination and subordination.

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Stranger.

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Simmel. Near and far, without and within. Live amongst us but from somewhere else. Ability to look at the community objectively but are not part of it enough to have an interest. Example: Traveling vendor.

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Subjective Culture.

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Simmel. What individuals absorb and integrate into themselves from objective culture. Individuals relate to culture subjectively. Create and intelligent aspects of the individual human being could only be cultivated through the agency of a objective culture.

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Two Modern Forms of Individual Freedom.

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Simmel. Negative liberty = everyone is equal and able to exercise liberty so long as it doesn't intrude on the liberties of others and is within the fence of the law. Positive liberty = does not assume equality but one has an imperative to realize full potential and uniqueness and are free to express this as far as they can.

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Blase attitude.

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Simmel. Effect of a self that becomes so bombarded with information and sensations that they then distance themselves from the environment so as to not be affected by it.

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Geometry of Social Forms.

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Simmel. Sociologists should understand social configurations geometrically. Ex: The stranger is looked at by its spacial configuration within society.

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Cultural superego.

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Freud. Morality of the society and is a collective superego or moral compass. Represented by mythical or heroic figures. Example: Jesus Christ represents morality for the Christian collective.

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Id.

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Freud. Represents unconscious desires, wants, instincts. Repressed thoughts that put pressure on the ego.

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Ego.

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Freud. Organized and realistic part that mediates between the desires of the id and superego. It compromises between desires and demands.

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Oedipus complex.

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Freud. Takes place at third part of sexual development. Little boy loves mother and desires attention. Ambivalent relationship with dad (loves, hates, fears). Overcomes this by repressing feelings for mother (formulation of id) and internalizes the authority of the father (formulation of superego).

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Superego.

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Freud. Internalization of the rule of the father or society. Seeks to punish individual and make them feel guilty. Acts on the ego and plays a critical and moralizing role. It can stop one from doing what the id wants them to do. Internalization of cultural rules, mainly taught by parents applying guidance and influence.

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Unconscious.

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Freud. Thoughts, ideas, and desires that one does not know or remember. Tend to cause internal trauma with the ego and are repressed.