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58 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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How did we go from the theological stage to scientific stage?
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Through the metaphysical stage, phenomena = natural, start of secularization, there was resistance against the theological stage. When it comes to modernity, the scientific stage came about because we wanted a more utopian society. The scientific stage was during the end of the 18th century
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What are the basic ideas of enlightenment?
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Fall of the Roman Empire, rise of science, Isaac Newton ignited enlightenment. Changes in structure of society, revolutions, the fall of feudalism. Main idea of the enlightenment is progress and empiricism. Thinkers believed that progress was not only possible but inevitable. Nation state democracy., Capitalism, science, and mass media.
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Explain Comte’s philosophy
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Auguste Comte, the father of modern sociology, believed in positivism. He believed that there were natural laws ordering society and human interaction that could be discovered and adhered to in order to create a more just and peaceful society.
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According to Comte, what was the purpose of sociology? What were we to study?
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His purpose was to reorganize society after the French revolution destroyed monarchy. Comte believed we were to study the progress of new democracy. Also, to systematically study society to observe laws and rights for a just an ideal society through empiricism.
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What is theory and what are the two functions?
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A theory is an explanation of how something works and is built out of assumptions, perspectives, concepts, definitions and relationships. The two functions of theory are to explain phenomena and provide insight
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How does theory play a role in Comte and other enlightenment philosopher’s goals?
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All scientific work is based on theory, and Comte and other enlightenment philosophers believed that society could be observed using scientific theories and empiricism. Laws are discovered through constant interplay between theory and empirical observation.
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Why are assumptions part of sociology and what are the three main assumptions of the field?
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Assumptions are part of society because they are viewed as the basis of thinking and theorizing. The three main assumptions of the field are:
1. Assumptions about human nature 2. Assumptions about the existence of society 3. Assumptions about the purposes and goals of knowledge. |
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What do perspectives have to do with theory?
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Perspectives are important because Sociologists believe that we never directly experience the world, we only encounter it through our perspectives.
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What are theoretical frameworks?
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Theories are guided by theoretical frameworks (aka paradigms). They are basic images of society that guide thinking and research. Frameworks explain the ordering of the world. The three theoretical frameworks in Sociology are:
1. Structural Functionalism 2. Social Conflict 3. Symbolic Interactionism |
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What is micro-level and what is macro-level?
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Although both are criticized for broad generalizations, macro-level sociology focuses on broad social structures that shape society as a whole whereas micro-level sociology focuses on patterns of social interactions in specific settings.
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What is species being?
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Species being is one of Marx’s assumptions about human nature: every species is unique because of the way it exists, and humans exist through creative production. We create our own world, our uniqueness is tied to creative production, and our survival is based on the manipulation of the environment.
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What is the difference between exchange value and use value?
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Use value is the actual function, whereas exchange value is the rate an item can command. For example, the use value of a beer is to get a buzz whereas the exchange value would be about $3.00.
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How do you increase the value of an item?
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To increase the value of an item, one must crate surplus labor, or in other words, exploit others. Increasing surplus labor turns a better profit.
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What is overproduction?
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According to Marx, overproduction is the point of crisis, it is the point where there is too much production for markets to handle, supply ≠ demand. Overproduction leads to social change and a collapse of capitalism through class struggle, because when overproduction occurs, production will slow therefore causing high unemployment
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What was Marx’s class structure? Marx’s class structure is as follows:
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1. Bourgeoisie – the owners of means of production
2. Petite Bourgeoisie – small business owners (this class disappears in times of crisis) 3. Proletariat – the laborers 4. Lumpenproletariat – the homeless / bums |
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Explain the supply and demand for labor cycle.
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Capital is invested, there is a demand for labor, and there is an increase in labor price which leads to a decrease in profit which leads to a decline in labor demand which leads to high unemployment and low wages, which leads to an increase in profit which finally leads to capital being reinvested.
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For Marx, what is the purpose of ideology?
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“Natural effects” idea was an ideological argument; promotes false consciousness in a populous in order to maintain an exploitative system.
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According to Marx, what is alienation?
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Alienation is the idea of human nature being rooted in production, and then disassociation with the production process. Alienation is experienced in three forms: alienation from the work process, from the product, and from other people. Alienation leads to commodity fetish
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According to Marx, what is false consciousness?
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False consciousness is any understanding of creative reality that is not tied to creative production. False consciousness is riven by ideology; ideologies justify current power arrangements and prevent social change. The two biggest drivers of false consciousness are religion and division of labor.
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According to Marx, what is commodity fetish?
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Commodity fetish is the attempt of alienated individuals to find self-worth in belongings and wealth.
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What is Weber’s assumption about the existence of society?
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Unlike Marx, Weber believed that society only existed subjectively, through an interpretation of culture.
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What is Weber’s assumption about human nature?
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Weber believes that humans are animals oriented toward meaning; we are also motivated by economic and cultural interests. Weber believes that society does not exist independent of our perceptions.
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Explain Verstehen.
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Verstehen is a German word meaning, “to understand”. It basically means to understand the meanings of others’ actions by contextualizing it in some way. Putting yourself in another person’s shoes is a good example of this. So we can understand it when Sam hits John if we know that Sam is angry with John for cheating him in a business deal – the meaning of the action comes out of our knowledge of the motivation (text page 76).
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What does Weber mean by the bureaucratic personality?
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The bureaucratic personality is the idea that people live more rationally due to the presence of bureaucracy. People are less spontaneous and less emotionally connected to others in their lives. People tend to identify with the goals of the organization; people do “what is best for the company”. Finally, people tend to rely on “experts” and authority.
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What does Weber believe the “ideal type” of bureaucracy to be?
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There are six features of the “ideal type” of bureaucracy:
1. An explicit division of labor with clearly defined lines of authority 2. The presence of an office hierarchy 3. Written rules and communication 4. Accredited training 5. Management by rules that are emotionally neutral 6. Ownership of the position by the organization rather than the individual |
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What does Weber mean by the “iron cage of bureaucracy”?
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This means that once bureaucracies are in place, they are virtually inescapable and indestructible for several reasons: they are the most efficient form of organizing large scale populations; and they are based upon expert knowledge.
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What is legitimation? Why is it important?
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Legitimation refers to the process by which power is not only institutionalized but more importantly is given moral grounding. Legitimations contain discourses or stories that we tell ourselves that make a social structure appear valid and acceptable. Weber’s point is that social strucdtures can function because of the belief in the legitimated cultural system.
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What are the three types of authority? Provide examples.
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1. Charismatic authority, example: Hitler, Obama, Jesus, MLK
2. Traditional authority, example: Monarchies 3. Rational-legal authority, example: professors, police officers |
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How are Weber’s additions to class structure: status and party power defined?
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Weber’s definition of class is different than Marx’s Marx defines class around the ownership of the means of production. Weber, on the other hand, says that a “class situation” exists where there is a typical probability of:
1. Procuring goods 2. Gaining a position in life 3. Finding inner satisfaction In other words, Weber defines class based on your ability to buy or sell goods and / or services that will bring you inner satisfaction and increase your life chances (how long and healthfully you will live). |
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Ritzer’s McDonaldization: What are the five elements discussed in the article?
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In the article, the five elements discussed are efficiency, predictability, calculability / Quantity, irrationality, and nonhuman technology / control.
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What was Durkheim’s central question or concern?
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Durkheim is concerned with diversity, specifically, how much cultural diversity can a society have and still function? He also asks, how is cultural diversity created? How are we becoming more and more diverse? What about cultural diversity might make it hard for a society to function? How can a diverse society create social solidarity and function? He believes too much diversity reduces collective effervescence, or sameness it leads to social solidarity it also makes us feel more different and we can revert to our animalistic selfish tendencies
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What is Durkheim’s assumption about human nature?
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Durkheim assumes that people are self-centered and driven by insatiable desires which are held in check by larger structures. We are insatiable, self-centered animals but we are innately social, however, we must turn to society to remind us that we have to be social.
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What is collective consciousness?
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According to the text, collective consciousness is the totality of ideas, representations, beliefs, and feelings that re common to the AVERAGE members of society. It is how we are convinced to come together, a sense of belonging. “We have an emotional sense of something greater than ourselves. The feeling of something greater is what underlies morality. We act social because it is moral to do so" (p. 112).
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What is collective effervescence?
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Collective effervescence is coming together, working together, experiencing something together and creating a high amount of emotional energy
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What is the root of everything social for Durkheim? Why?
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Durkheim considers religion to be the root of everything social because social bonds were created by religion first, scientific questions were first ordered by religion, and the organization of society was started with religion.
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What is Durkheim’s definition of religion?
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The three elements of religion are the sacred, beliefs and practices, and a moral community.
Durkheim defined religion as a unified system of beliefs and practices relative to sacred things, beliefs and practices which unite into one single moral community called a Church, and all those to adhere to them p. 115. It is important to note that Durkheim’s definition of religion does not mention the supernatural or a God. There is no mention of a God because Durkheim argues that before humans could think about the supernatural, they first had to have a clear idea about what is natural. |
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What caused the shift from mechanical to organic solidarity?
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Durkheim says that division of labor caused this shift. Competition causes division of labor; increase in population density causes competition.
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What causes the division of labor?
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Competition causes division of labor.
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What are the two pathologies discussed by Durkheim? The two possible pathologies are anomie and forced division of labor and class inequality. With anomie, we revert to our selfish tendencies. These pathologies can lead to suicide.
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The two possible pathologies are anomie and forced division of labor and class inequality. With anomie, we revert to our selfish tendencies. These pathologies can lead to suicide.
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What are the types of suicide?
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• Egoistic: low group attachment, lost sense of reality and purpose
• Altruistic: high group attachment example: Kamikaze pilots, WWII they would commit suicide for the greater good, individual life is meaningless, group is only reality • Anomic suicide: lack of regulation of behaviors, another form of meaninglessness • Fatalistic: Overregulation - lost sense of individual effectiveness |
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What was Durkheim’s central question or concern?
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Durkheim is concerned with diversity, specifically, how much cultural diversity can a society have and still function? He also asks, how is cultural diversity created? How are we becoming more and more diverse? What about cultural diversity might make it hard for a society to function? How can a diverse society create social solidarity and function? He believes too much diversity reduces collective effervescence, or sameness it leads to social solidarity it also makes us feel more different and we can revert to our animalistic selfish tendencies
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What is Durkheim’s assumption about human nature?
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Durkheim assumes that people are self-centered and driven by insatiable desires which are held in check by larger structures. We are insatiable, self-centered animals but we are innately social, however, we must turn to society to remind us that we have to be social.
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What is collective consciousness?
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According to the text, collective consciousness is the totality of ideas, representations, beliefs, and feelings that re common to the AVERAGE members of society. It is how we are convinced to come together, a sense of belonging. “We have an emotional sense of something greater than ourselves. The feeling of something greater is what underlies morality. We act social because it is moral to do so" (p. 112).
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What is collective effervescence?
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Collective effervescence is coming together, working together, experiencing something together and creating a high amount of emotional energy
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What is the root of everything social for Durkheim? Why?
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Durkheim considers religion to be the root of everything social because social bonds were created by religion first, scientific questions were first ordered by religion, and the organization of society was started with religion.
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What is Durkheim’s definition of religion?
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Durkheim defined religion as a unified system of beliefs and practices relative to sacred things, that is to say, things set apart and forbidden – beliefs and practices which unite into one single moral community called a Church, and all those to adhere to them p. 115. It is important to note that Durkheim’s definition of religion does not mention the supernatural or a God. The three elements of religion are the sacred, beliefs and practices, and a moral community. There is no mention of a God because Durkheim argues that before humans could think about the supernatural, they first had to have a clear idea about what is natural. The term supernatural assumes the division of the universe into two categories: things that can be rationally explained and those that can’t.
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What caused the shift from mechanical to organic solidarity?
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Durkheim says that division of labor caused this shift. Competition causes division of labor; increase in population density causes competition.
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What causes the division of labor?
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Competition causes division of labor.
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What are the two pathologies discussed by Durkheim? The two possible pathologies are anomie and forced division of labor and class inequality. With anomie, we revert to our selfish tendencies. These pathologies can lead to suicide.
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The two possible pathologies are anomie and forced division of labor and class inequality. With anomie, we revert to our selfish tendencies. These pathologies can lead to suicide.
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What are the types of suicide?
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• Egoistic: low group attachment, lost sense of reality and purpose
• Altruistic: high group attachment example: Kamikaze pilots, WWII they would commit suicide for the greater good, individual life is meaningless, group is only reality • Anomic suicide: lack of regulation of behaviors, another form of meaninglessness • Fatalistic: Overregulation - lost sense of individual effectiveness |
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What is the new sacred element?
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Durkheim calls the cult of the individual the new moral basis of society. Individual becomes recipient of social rights and responsibility rather than casts and lineages.
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Do humans act or react? Explain.
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Humans act, they don’t react. As Mead characterizes it, the distinctly human act contains four distinct elements: impulse, perception, manipulation, and consumption. Think of it this way, animals react: a dog cannot say no to food, humans on the other hand, act. After we symbolically take in our environment, we manipulate the different elements in our imagination.
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Who is the modern person? The modern person is able to have rational inquiry, reason, individual, necessitates democracy.
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The modern person is able to have rational inquiry, reason, individual, necessitates democracy.
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What are the promises of modernity?
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Modernity promised capitalism and diverse markets, diverse people and diverse ideologies.
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What is Mead’s assumption about human nature?
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He believed we are born as a blank slate, he also believed that we use symbols to react, meaning is created.
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What is Mead’s assumption about society?
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Society emerges through social interaction
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What is role-taking and what are the three stages?
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Role taking is the process in which a person develops their symbolic self. The three stages are:
1. Play stage - child can take the role, or assume the perspective of certain significant others 2. Game Stage – child can take perspective of several others and take into account the rules 3. Generalized other stage – sets of attitudes that an individual may take toward him or herself – it is the general attitude or perspective of a community |
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Explain the I and Me.
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The Me is the self that results from the progressive stages of role-taking and is the perspective that we assume to view and analyze our own behaviors. The I is the part of the self that is unsocialized and spontaneous.
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