Sociological Theories Of Violence

Ever wonder why criminals commit the inhuman acts of violence that they do, or why large quantities of people are involved in drug usage despite knowing the negative consequences to themselves? Well sociology is a field where professionals consider why people do things rather than focusing on the who, what and when questions when gathering information. Max Weber was a German theorist in sociologist who also produced works in economic, law, philosophy and history fields. He lived from 1864 to 1920 and, in that lifespan, Weber shared many sociological views and theories to explain the functioning of society. One of his many theories included the idea that behavior is the result of habit, higher values, emotions and self-interest. Sociologist …show more content…
I find myself relating heavily to this aspect because majority of the actions I commit to are primarily aimed to benefit myself or to fulfill my own desires. For instance, I am in a committed relationship where I play my role as a significant other and provided my attention and love and expect the same in return. I am loyal to him in the sense that I do involve myself in any dishonest or unfaithful activities and I believe he behaves the same for me. I have always planned to someday own my own home and to have children and start a family with a man who I love and respect and who feels the same way towards me. At this point in life, my boyfriend is the man I wish to begin this new segment of my life with for several reasons. Studies show that similarities in the sense of geographic regions, cultural backgrounds, educational achievements, values and “...future aspirations regarding career family and children” (Insel et al 100) leads to a greater chance of a relationship successfully lasting. From this knowledge, I understand that my boyfriend and I have a good chance of a long-lasting successful relationship since we have all those …show more content…
Indeed, rational choice helps people make the most appropriate decisions regarding their circumstances as it has consistently proved throughout my lifetime experiences. The triumph of rational choice approach is that it can even be used “...to explain things that seem irrational” (Giddens et al 16) because every individual uses it in the sense of adding to their own personal self-interests. However, I also support Max Weber's idea that behavior can also be provoked by habits, emotions and higher values but these types of behaviors are often irrational and done without much thought which differs heavily from the rational choice approach. So while I do agree with the rational choice approach theory, I also believe there has to be more to generally explain human behavior because behavior is an aspect of sociological studies which can be viewed and studied by multiple perspectives. Still, it is the rational choice approach that allows people to make the “best” decisions about their circumstances and it is the most important factor in one's behavior. Overall, rational choice allows me to understand some reasoning behind my actions and I can use this knowledge to control my actions, better rational decisions, build on my self-interest, and live an improved