Sociology can be explained as the systematic study of social life and human societies. We must also add that sociology does not only consist on collecting data of a social issue, is much more than a list of facts and figures, sociology is above all, an awareness, a way of thinking, analysing and developing a critical understanding of society and social phenomena at different levels and different perspectives. In fact, the word “sociology” comes from the combination of a Latin word “socius” meaning partner or associate and a Greek word “logos” meaning reason or study, a terminology that was first used in 1838 by Auguste Comte (1798-1857), also known as “the father of Sociology”. It is an open discipline, where dogmatism does not fit and theories
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These social institutions make up society 's social structure. They try to study these by creating knowledge that is factual rather than based on opinions. The study of sociology provides a better understanding of the world we live in and the means for improving it. Is a subject that it is classed as a social science and it has become very popular in modern Britain, even though newcomers often only have a vague idea of what the subject is about. This essay highlights the three main approaches within Sociology, Functionalism, Interpretivism and Marxism, analysing, evaluating and focusing on their impact in society. Therefore, information about their research methods and political ideas are also included. In order to be able to analyse these, one must be aware of what is a sociological perspective. The sociological perspective involves and consists on seeing things in a different way than we assume, a way of analysing and interpreting social …show more content…
It is based particularly on the works of John Dewey, William I. Thomas and George Herb Maed, which is regarded as the founder of this theory. This approach is also one of the major sociological perspectives in Sociology, also related to Anthropology and Social Psychology. The theory argues that interaction and meaning are the basis of society (Peace, 2008), and is concerned with the analysis of society by explaining social actions in terms of meaning that individuals gives to them. To be more precise, human beings use symbols that are based on shared meanings to be able to understand the world and engage in social interaction. Unlike the other sociological perspectives, they tend to focus on small-scale interactions rather than on large-scales like Functionalism and Marxism. According to Mead, since human beings have no instinct to direct their behaviour, symbols are necessary as they interact meaningfully with their natural and social environment through the use of symbols (Cohen and Kropf, 2011). These symbols are contained in language, and without them, there would not be human interaction. Thus, the theory emphasises that individuals are more important than society. According to interactionist, social order is based on the totality of social interactions. They talk about the “Self”, one of the concepts within the theory which can be explained as a reflexive
These social institutions make up society 's social structure. They try to study these by creating knowledge that is factual rather than based on opinions. The study of sociology provides a better understanding of the world we live in and the means for improving it. Is a subject that it is classed as a social science and it has become very popular in modern Britain, even though newcomers often only have a vague idea of what the subject is about. This essay highlights the three main approaches within Sociology, Functionalism, Interpretivism and Marxism, analysing, evaluating and focusing on their impact in society. Therefore, information about their research methods and political ideas are also included. In order to be able to analyse these, one must be aware of what is a sociological perspective. The sociological perspective involves and consists on seeing things in a different way than we assume, a way of analysing and interpreting social …show more content…
It is based particularly on the works of John Dewey, William I. Thomas and George Herb Maed, which is regarded as the founder of this theory. This approach is also one of the major sociological perspectives in Sociology, also related to Anthropology and Social Psychology. The theory argues that interaction and meaning are the basis of society (Peace, 2008), and is concerned with the analysis of society by explaining social actions in terms of meaning that individuals gives to them. To be more precise, human beings use symbols that are based on shared meanings to be able to understand the world and engage in social interaction. Unlike the other sociological perspectives, they tend to focus on small-scale interactions rather than on large-scales like Functionalism and Marxism. According to Mead, since human beings have no instinct to direct their behaviour, symbols are necessary as they interact meaningfully with their natural and social environment through the use of symbols (Cohen and Kropf, 2011). These symbols are contained in language, and without them, there would not be human interaction. Thus, the theory emphasises that individuals are more important than society. According to interactionist, social order is based on the totality of social interactions. They talk about the “Self”, one of the concepts within the theory which can be explained as a reflexive