Sociology
Sociology is the study of the development, structure, and functioning of human society. Sociology covers a diverse range of subject from crime to religion, from the family to state, from racial divisions to social class, from culture and social stability as well as radical change. Unifying the study of these diverse subjects is the underlying purpose of sociology. Sociology attempts to understand how human action and consciousness shape and are shaped by surrounding cultural and social structures. Sociology offers an enlightening way of seeing and understanding the social world in which we live and how it shapes our lives.
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Core Features of Positivist Theory
The positivism approach focuses on the macro-level and is a scientific study of society which focuses on structural-consensus and states human behavior is learnt behavior. The approach follows the assumption that the behavior of humans, like the behavior of matter, can be objectively measured and that such measurements are essential to explain behavior. The approach follows the belief that structure comes first and our reactions are based on modernity. The positivist believe that society’s cultural rules determine and structure the behavior …show more content…
Interactionists follow the belief that human though, experience, and conduct is based on our interactions with symbols, the most important of which is language. Interactionists argue that without symbols, there would be no human interaction, and therefore, no human society. The theory states symbolic interaction is necessary since human beings have no instincts to direct their behavior and are not genetically programmed to react to stimuli so in order to survive, they must construct and live within a world of meaning. An example of this would be how humans classify the natural environment into categories of food and non-food in order to meet nutritional
Sociology is the study of the development, structure, and functioning of human society. Sociology covers a diverse range of subject from crime to religion, from the family to state, from racial divisions to social class, from culture and social stability as well as radical change. Unifying the study of these diverse subjects is the underlying purpose of sociology. Sociology attempts to understand how human action and consciousness shape and are shaped by surrounding cultural and social structures. Sociology offers an enlightening way of seeing and understanding the social world in which we live and how it shapes our lives.
(99)
Core Features of Positivist Theory
The positivism approach focuses on the macro-level and is a scientific study of society which focuses on structural-consensus and states human behavior is learnt behavior. The approach follows the assumption that the behavior of humans, like the behavior of matter, can be objectively measured and that such measurements are essential to explain behavior. The approach follows the belief that structure comes first and our reactions are based on modernity. The positivist believe that society’s cultural rules determine and structure the behavior …show more content…
Interactionists follow the belief that human though, experience, and conduct is based on our interactions with symbols, the most important of which is language. Interactionists argue that without symbols, there would be no human interaction, and therefore, no human society. The theory states symbolic interaction is necessary since human beings have no instincts to direct their behavior and are not genetically programmed to react to stimuli so in order to survive, they must construct and live within a world of meaning. An example of this would be how humans classify the natural environment into categories of food and non-food in order to meet nutritional