Max Planck

Karl Marx and Emile Durkheim are two of the founding figures of sociology. They were the first to explore the relationship between the economy and society in the nineteenth and twentieth century, each developing different perspectives of society. Despite them having significantly different views on modern capitalism, they both played a prominent role in the development of sociology as an academic discipline. This essay provides a biography of Marx and Durkheim and the major works they published.…

This paper will describe and critically evaluate Simmel’s concept of money as a crucial feature of social life. In particular, to show how the concept and value of money has changed over time, an historical and sociological context will be taken into consideration. Thus, the analysis of how society conceived money economy in the past, and of how money is conceived in the present instead, will demonstrate also an awareness of the development of sociology as a discipline itself. In addition, the…

After the industrial revolution and the emergence of giant corporations in Europe Max Weber realized the old aristocracies could not provide the new kind of leadership that was necessary to lead these corporations in the 20th century. Weber’s bureaucracy helped to eliminate the absolute power inherited by privileged social classes. He envisioned an organization that was rational, logical, impersonal, formal, predictable, and systematic (Owens & Valesky, 2015). Leaders try to create organizations…

The Weberian argument states that the fear of eternal damnation has led to the rationalization process of hard work and asceticism; the capitalist ethos. Often, the idea of eternal suffering can also lead to multiple irrational behaviors. History attests to the countless number of human atrocities that have been committed in the name of religion. From the Buddhist Burma to the Islamic State, religion has often been used as a driving force for irrational and senseless actions, that somehow still…

Mohan Rakesh was very socially aware, his characters show how aware he was of society and the way that people think and act in a particular situation. Four plays of Mohan Rakesh are being analyzed from the point of view of Social Consciousness, leading to the whole idea of Morality that really drives society. How the ‘boundaries’ of Morality keep the characters caught up in situations and states from where there is No Exit. Some characters are not even given a choice to leave, while some are,…

Is it possible to judge an individual without deliberating social background? The answer is no. From the beginning of its existence, the human race relied on society. Society and its culture are at the heart of civilization, encompassing an individual, forcing him or her to conform to its norms. Thus, all figures in literature are bound to reflect traits of their societal environment. The Canterbury Tales, written by Geoffrey Chaucer is a classical example. Written during the turbulent periods…

In order to answer this question, it is essential to understand what Social Constructionism is. This theory was developed by Berger and Luckmann (1996), claiming that ‘all reality and meaning is subjective and created through dynamic interactions with other individuals and groups’. This infers that individuals are created via social processes, rather than from a sense of the individual’s free will. Whilst this theory is both compared and contrasted to essentialism and realism, it is important to…

The Novels a House of Mr. Biswas and Things Fall Apart, both examine the concept of Individualization in direct conflict to their each respective societies. A House for Mr. Biswas, by V.S. Naipaul focuses more on the adaptation to society, whereas Things Fall apart, by Chinua Achebe, focuses on the destruction of oneself door to Society Clash. Both the Novels, have similar themes, though the techniques used to portray it to the readers differ. The Novel, Things Fall Apart published in 1958, by…

Ryan Hartwich 12 / 03 / 2017 Essay 4: Comment on the statement “We are what society makes us” In their scientific paper “Relation between Individual and Society” M. Anayet Hossain and Md. Korban Ali of the Department of Philosophy of University of Chittagong in Chittagong, Bangladesh, state that “Man depends on society. It is in the society that an…

Introduction Sociologists have developed three main perspectives to decipher the social world. Each perspective evaluates the society, social patterns, and behaviors through a different lens. These traditional paradigms include structural-functionalism, conflict theory, and symbolic interactionism. The structural-functional theory focuses on the interdependent role of each part that works collectively to stabilize the complex machine of society. The conflict theory considers the inevitable…