Introduction to Sociology
In his Invitation to Sociology, Peter Berger stated that “sociology can help people to take charge of their lives by making them aware of their situation in society and the forces acting upon them…By discovering the workings of society, they gain an understanding of how this process takes place.” The wisdom of sociology is the discovery that things are not what they seem.
In 1838, the French-thinker August Comte tweaked the meaning of the term sociology, to give it the definition that it holds today. Comte had earlier expressed his work as "social physics", but that term had been appropriated by others, most notably a Belgian statistician, Adolphe Quetelet (1796–1874). Comte hoped to unify all studies of humankind through the scientific understanding of the social realm. His own sociological scheme was typical of the 19th century humanists; he believed all human life passed through distinct historical stages and that, if one could grasp this progress, one could prescribe the remedies for social ills. Sociology was to be the "queen science" in Comte's schema; all basic physical sciences had to arrive first, leading to the most fundamentally difficult science of human society itself. Comte has thus come to be viewed as the "Father of Sociology".
In the family of social sciences, Sociology is comparatively a new entrant. But because of its dealing with social problems, social relationships and social interactions the importance of the study of this subject has considerably increased. It has considerably developed in methodology, scope and approach. Sociology is the systematic study of social behavior and human groups. It focuses primarily on the influence of social relationships upon people’s attitudes and behavior and on how societies are established and changed.
Sociology is a systematic study of human society and their social life. Sociology can also be defined as the scientific study of the interaction among different organized groups of human beings. Various Sociologists define it in various ways:
- According to Ward “Sociology is science of society”.
- George Simmel opines that it is a subject which studies human interrelationship.
- Giddins is of the view that “Sociology is scientific study of society”.
- Max Weber defines sociology as " the science which attempts the interpretative understanding of social action in order thereby to arrive at a casual explanation of its course and effects".
- Alex Inkeles says, "Sociology is the study of systems of social action and of their inter-relations".
- Kimball Young and Raymond W. Mack say, "Sociology is the scientific study of social aspects of human life".
Sources:
Study material of IGNOU for Sociology
bns-105-blk-unit-1-sociological_IGNOU.pdf
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