Sociology: Definition, Scope, Nature and Significance

Sociology: Definition, Scope, Nature and Significance

Chapter – 1

Harshit Sharma

Political Science (BHU)

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The term “sociology” was coined by Auguste Comte in 1839.
Sociology began as a separate discipline in 1876 in the United States.
It started in France in 1889, in Great Britain in 1907, in Poland and India after World War I, in Egypt and Mexico in 1925, and in Sweden in 1947.
Sociology is the youngest of all social sciences.
The term is derived from the Latin word societus meaning ‘society’ and the Greek word logos meaning ‘study’ or ‘science’.
The etymological meaning of “sociology” is the ‘science of society’.
Professor Ginsberg defines sociology as the study of society, focusing on human interactions and interrelations.
Sociology examines man’s behavior in groups, social relationships, and the processes of human group activities.

NEED FOR A SCIENCE OF SOCIOLOGY

The most distinctive feature of human life is its social character.
All humans interact to survive, as remarked by Aristotle, who called man a “social animal.”
Nature and necessity drive humans to live in society.
Human behavior is influenced by physical and social forces.
Understanding physical phenomena has historically been easier due to their concreteness and observability.
Humans have long sought to understand their social environment, leading to various social sciences like history, economics, political science, anthropology, and psychology.
These social sciences focus on specific aspects of human conduct:
- History records unique events.
- Economics deals with production and consumption.
- Political science focuses on political activities and institutions.
- Anthropology studies past activities and institutions.
- Psychology explores human action, impulses, and motives.
Despite their insights, these sciences do not offer a comprehensive view of society.
Sociology emerged to address this gap, aiming to study society as a whole.
Sociology is both a synthetic discipline, unifying results from other fields, and an analytic, specialized science with its own research focus.
It deals with social relationships, which are the central concern of sociology.
Sociology examines social relationships not as economic, political, or religious but as inherently social.
It does not study religion, art, or government in isolation but as forces influencing social relations.
The primary interest of sociology is man’s behavior in relation to other people, focusing on social relationships.

DEFINITION OF SOCIOLOGY

To understand sociology in detail, examining definitions from key sociologists is useful.
Definitions of sociology:
- L.F. Ward: Sociology is the science of society or social phenomena.
- L.T. Hobhouse: Sociology is the interaction of human minds.
- M. Ginsberg: Sociology is the study of human interactions and interrelations, their conditions and consequences.
- H.P. Fairchild: Sociology is the study of relationships between man and his human environment.
- W.F. Ogburn: Sociology is a body of learning about society, social ethics, social philosophy, and generally a science of society.
- Gillin and Gillin: Sociology is the study of interactions arising from the association of living beings.
- Max Weber: Sociology is the science which attempts the interpretive understanding of social action.
- Young and Mack: Sociology is the scientific study of the structure of social life.
- G. Duncan Mitchell: Sociology is a science for scientific social development.
- John W. Bennet: Sociology is the science of the structure and functions of social life.
Common points from definitions:
- Sociology is a science of society and social relationships.
- It involves studying social life, human behavior in groups, social action, and forms of social relationships.
- Sociology focuses on human relationships with an emphasis on the social aspect.
MacIver’s clarification:
- Sociology’s real subject matter is social relationships.
- Social interactions and processes are based on social relationships.
- The study of social processes or other matters must be in the context of social relationships.
Sociology studies:
- Evolution of society, systems, and structures.
- Development and functions of social institutions.
- Customs and rules regulating social relationships.
- Groups and communities formed throughout history.
- Interdependence of groups such as family, caste, government, economic, and religious groups.
- Phenomenon of social change.

SOCIOLOGY—A SCIENCE WITH ITS OWN SUBJECT MATTER

Sociology is considered the mother of all social sciences.
Critics argue that sociology lacks a unique subject matter and is a collection of observations from other social sciences.
MacIver claims social sciences fall within sociology just as associations fall within the community.
Criticism 1: Sociology is an assemblage of miscellaneous studies with social content.
Response: Sociology explores topics like family, property, church, state, social traditions, processes, classes, migration, population changes, social habits, customs, poverty, crime, and suicide.
Criticism 2: Sociology’s subject matter is divided among other social sciences like economics, political science, psychology, anthropology, history, and jurisprudence.
Response: Sociology, like biology, aims to relate and integrate conclusions from various social sciences, addressing general conditions of social life.
Criticism 3: Sociology borrows from other social sciences.
Response: Borrowing is a common practice in science; sociology enriches other fields by applying its own techniques to create new insights.
Sociology deals with the totality of human relations, making it dependent on multiple sciences for a comprehensive understanding.
Sociology studies social life as a whole, focusing on interactions as social organization rather than psychological behavior.
Sociology examines social phenomena from a sociological perspective, which is empirical and objective.
It considers societies as organic unities and analyzes the relations between various institutional complexes.
Sociology classifies and analyzes human social groups and their structures.
It addresses topics like social stratification, changes in population rates, and family functions, not covered by other sciences.
Sociology is a general science studying various social institutions and searching for causes and explanations of behavior.

SCOPE OF SOCIOLOGY

Opinions about the scope of sociology vary widely.
Some believe sociology studies everything under the sun, which is considered too vague.
Sociology has a limited field, focusing on problems not addressed by other social sciences.
Broadly, sociology studies human interactions, their conditions, and consequences.
It covers all aspects of human life in society, including activities, rules, knowledge, belief systems, art, and morals.
This broad scope is impractical for any single science to manage thoroughly.
There are two main schools of thought regarding sociology’s scope.
One group, led by German sociologist Simmel, views sociology as pure and independent, focusing on specific aspects of human relationships.
The other group argues that the field is too broad for one science and supports specialization and division.
This group advocates for a general social science (sociology) to interrelate results from specialized social sciences and address general social conditions.
According to this group, sociology serves as a general science.

SPECIALISTIC OR FORMALISTIC SCHOOL

Simmel views sociology as distinct by studying social relationships from different angles, such as competition and subordination, across various spheres like economic, political, and religious.
Simmel sees sociology as a specific science that describes, classifies, and analyzes forms of social relationships in abstraction.
Small believes sociology has a delimited scope, focusing on generic forms of social relationships, behaviors, and activities.
Vierkandt defines sociology as a branch concerned with ultimate forms of mental or psychic relationships linking individuals in society.
Max Weber aims to interpret or understand social behavior, which does not cover all human relations but focuses on social interactions, like how individuals respond to each other.
The formalistic school views sociology as studying abstract forms of social relationships, irrespective of their concrete context.
According to this school, forms of social relationships are studied in their abstract nature, similar to how a bottle’s form remains unchanged by its contents.
Criticisms of the formalistic school include:
- It narrows sociology’s scope by excluding the study of concrete contents of social life.
- Abstract forms are not practical without considering concrete contexts; social forms change with content.
- Pure sociology is impractical and cannot be studied in isolation from other social sciences.
- Sociology is not the only discipline studying social relationships; political science, economics, and international law also explore these relationships.
The formalistic school is criticized for excessively limiting the scope of sociology.

SYNTHETIC SCHOOL

The synthetic school aims to make sociology a synthesis of social sciences or a general science, supported by Durkheim, Hobhouse, and Sorokin.
Durkheim divides sociology into three principal divisions:
- Social morphology: Studies geographical or territorial bases of social life, population volume, density, and distribution.
- Social physiology: Includes branches like sociology of religion, morals, laws, economic life, and languages, focusing on social facts and activities related to social groups.
- General sociology: Aims to discover general characteristics of social facts and identify general social laws expressed by special social sciences.
Hobhouse views sociology as a synthesis of various social studies, with tasks including:
- Studying a specific part of the social field.
- Interconnecting results from different social sciences.
- Interpreting social life as a whole.
Sorokin defines sociology’s subject matter as:
- Studying relationships between different aspects of social phenomena.
- Studying the relationship between social and non-social elements.
- Studying general features of social phenomena.
Ginsberg summarizes sociology’s functions as:
- Classifying types and forms of social relationships, including institutions and associations.
- Determining relations between different parts of social life (e.g., economic, political, moral, religious).
- Disentangling fundamental conditions of social change and persistence and discovering sociological principles governing social life.

THE FIELDS OF SOCIOLOGY

Sociology’s scope is divided into various fields for better study.
Sociological theory: Focuses on sociological concepts, principles, and generalizations.
Historical sociology: Studies past social institutions and their origins.
Sociology of family: Examines the origin, growth, functions, kinds, nature, and issues like divorce within the family.
Human ecology and demography: Investigates the influence of population and geographical factors on society.
Sociology of community: Studies communities and is divided into:
- Rural sociology
- Urban sociology
Special sociologies: Include branches that focus on different social aspects:
- Educational sociology
- Sociology of religion
- Economic sociology
- Political sociology
- Sociology of law
- Social disorganization
- Criminology
- Social psychology
- Cultural sociology
- Social psychiatry
- Folk sociology
- Industrial sociology
- Sociology of art
- Military sociology
- Medical sociology
- Sociology of sickness
- Sociology of recreation
- Sociology of small groups
- Sociology of bureaucracy
- Sociology of social stratification
- Sociology of sex
Future developments may introduce new special sociologies.

SOCIOLOGY AS A SCIENCE

The Meaning of Science

There is controversy over whether sociology should be regarded as a science.
Critics deny sociology’s claim to being a science, while others affirm it as a science on par with political science, history, and economics.
A science is defined as a branch of knowledge dealing with systematically arranged facts or truths, showing the operation of general laws.
Science gathers facts, links them causally, and draws valid inferences.
Scientific knowledge is based on reason and evidence, making it variable and communicable.
Characteristics of a science include:
- Concise, consistent, and concrete formulation.
- Ability to form generalizations and make predictions.
- Possibility of verification of data and generalizations.
Scientific method involves observation, recording, classification, hypothesis, verification, and prediction.
William Esslinger views science as methodically based on reason, without requiring experimentation and prediction.
Huxley also defines science as a systematic body of knowledge based on reason and evidence.

Sociology Cannot Be Regarded as a Science

Critics argue sociology cannot be designated as a science for the following reasons:
Lack of experimentation: Sociology cannot perform experiments or predictions like physical sciences because human relationships cannot be measured or analyzed in a lab. Sociology deals with complex and variable human behavior that cannot be tested with scientific instruments.
Lack of objectivity: Sociologists struggle to maintain complete objectivity due to personal biases and prejudices. Unlike physicists, sociologists cannot observe social relationships with detachment and must understand the inner workings of subjects’ minds.
Lack of exactivity: Sociology cannot frame precise laws or make accurate predictions as physical sciences can. Its conclusions and predictions are often imprecise and may not come true. Dispassionate and neutral study of social phenomena is also considered impossible.
Terminological inefficiency: Sociology suffers from unclear and inexact terminology. Terms like ‘caste’ and ‘class’ have ambiguous meanings and lack a standardized set of scientific terms, hindering its development as a science.

Sociology is a Science

Critics argue that exactness of conclusions and prediction capacity alone determine if a study is scientific.
Meteorology, which lacks accurate predictions, is still considered a science, so universal validity and accuracy are not the sole criteria.
The scientific character of a discipline is determined by its methodology.
Sociology uses scientific methods such as scales of sociometry, schedules, questionnaires, interviews, and case histories, applying quantitative measurements to social phenomena.
Sociology employs basic scientific methods like observation and comparison.
Not all physical sciences use laboratory experimentation; for instance, astronomy cannot experiment with celestial bodies in a lab, yet it is considered a science.
Sociology frames laws and attempts predictions, seeking general principles applicable across cultures, such as marriage regulations to prevent incest.
No science makes infallible predictions; theories in other sciences have also been modified over time.
Sociology delineates cause-and-effect relationships, such as between family disorganization and divorce.
Sociology classifies social relationships, determines relations between social factors, and deduces general laws.
Sociology applies its principles to solve social problems, thus qualifying as a science like other disciplines concerning man.

Can Sociology Be a Value-Free Science?

The controversy centers around whether sociology can be a value-free science.
A value-free science means avoiding social value judgments and focusing solely on empirical analysis.
Sociology should not determine the goodness or badness of social values; it should analyze social institutions empirically.
Questions about what is desirable or undesirable are outside the scope of sociology.
Sociology aims to test the empirical aspects of social behavior without making normative judgments.
Scientific inquiry should be value-free, separating facts from values.
Auguste Comte and Emile Durkheim focused on developing empirical and structural-functionalist approaches without making value judgments.
Max Weber emphasized keeping social analysis ethically neutral and value-free for scientific development.
Weber believed that science cannot rationally choose between value systems and that values should not influence social analysis.
Neo-positivism continued Weber’s value-free approach, promoting neutrality and aloofness from moral and philosophical issues.
The value-free principle views natural sciences as a model for sociology, implying that sociology should be free from value orientation and ideology.
Weber’s idea of value-free science did not mean rejecting value judgments altogether but limiting their role in scientific discussion.
Weber believed that science could only clarify value judgments, not make decisions or prescribe what one ought to do.
Arnold Brecht noted that while Weber insisted on the limitations of science, he personally believed in ultimate values and their importance for human dignity.

SIGNIFICANCE OF SOCIOLOGY

Critics like Pareto argue that sociology is of little value, as it lacks scientific discoveries and deals with ideas rather than realities.
Sociology provides immense value by offering a scientific study of society, a domain previously unaddressed by other sciences.
It examines the role of major social institutions (e.g., family, school, religion) in individual development and suggests improvements.
Sociology is essential for understanding and planning society, similar to how biology aids medicine or physics aids engineering.
It helps solve social problems through scientific research, providing knowledge and principles to improve social conditions.
Understanding sociology helps appreciate others’ motives and conditions, reducing the significance of racial or social differences.
It has transformed views on crime, focusing on rehabilitating criminals rather than treating them as degenerated beasts.
Sociology enriches human culture by promoting rational thinking, objectivity, and overcoming prejudices.
It aids in solving international problems by studying the causes of war and promoting peace.
Sociology is increasingly popular as a teaching subject, with applications in administrative exams and professional fields.
Career opportunities for sociology graduates include roles in labor welfare, social security, criminal reformation, social welfare, education, and family planning.
The study of sociology is crucial in India due to rapid societal transformations, such as changes in family structures, increasing urbanization, and emerging social issues.
Sociology assists in understanding and addressing these complex social problems effectively.

METHODS OF SOCIOLOGY

The term ‘method’ refers to an appropriate way of doing something, crucial for scientific investigation.
Sociology uses various methods to collect, analyze, and interpret sociological data.
Common methods in sociology include the scientific or experimental method, historical method, comparative or anthropological method, statistical method, social survey method, case study method, questionnaire and interview method, public opinion poll method, and functionalism or structural functional method.
The Scientific or Experimental Method involves observation (spontaneous or controlled), recording data, classification, hypothesis formulation, and prediction.
Controlled observation or experimentation is challenging in sociology due to the complexity of human behavior.
The Historical Method studies past events to understand contemporary social life, linking history and sociology.
Limitations of the historical method include potential bias and the inability to address all sociological problems.
The Comparative or Anthropological Method involves comparing different groups to understand social behavior and relationships.
The Statistical Method measures social phenomena quantitatively, useful for problems expressed in numerical terms but limited for qualitative issues.
The Social Survey Method collects data on living conditions to formulate practical social measures for improvement.
Social surveys are used to address social problems and are prevalent in both developed and developing countries.
The Case Study Method involves studying individual or group cases to generalize findings, using techniques like interviews, questionnaires, and documents.
Case work principles include acceptance, self-determination, and confidentiality.
The Questionnaire and Interview Method involves collecting data through written questions or personal interviews, with each method having its advantages and limitations.
The Public Opinion Poll Method gauges public beliefs and attitudes on various issues, helping authorities adjust policies.
The Functionalism or Structural Functional Method analyzes social phenomena based on their functions within society, emphasizing interrelated social structures and their contributions.
Functional analysis involves establishing functional requirements, explaining structures and processes, searching for compensating mechanisms, and describing functional systems.
The functional approach has been used by sociologists like Comte, Spencer, Parsons, and Merton but has limitations, including a static view of society and overlooking unique aspects of social institutions.

BRANCHES OF SOCIOLOGY

Sociology is the study of human society, a vast and complex phenomenon.
Sociologists have divided the study of society into various branches.
Durkheim’s three principal divisions of sociology: (a) Social morphology, (b) Social physiology, (c) General sociology.
Social morphology covers geographical settings, population density, and preliminary data influencing social aspects.
Social physiology deals with dynamic processes like religion, morals, laws, economics, and politics.
General sociology aims to discover general social laws from specialized social processes.
Max Weber combines historical and systematic methods, focusing on the relations between economics and religion.
Sorokin divides sociology into: (a) General sociology, (b) Special sociology.
General sociology studies properties and uniformities of social and cultural phenomena and their interrelations.
Special sociologies study specific sociocultural phenomena, such as sociology of population, family, law, religion, and others.
Ginsberg’s four aspects of sociology: (a) Social morphology, (b) Social control, (c) Social processes, (d) Social pathology.
Social morphology involves studying population quantity, quality, and social structure.
Social control examines law, morals, religions, and other regulating agencies.
Social processes include interactions like cooperation, conflict, socialization, and development.
Social pathology studies social maladjustments and disturbances.
Samuel Koenig’s major fields of sociology: Sociological theory, Historical sociology, Sociology of family, Human ecology and demography, Community studies, Sociology of religion, Education sociology, Political sociology, Sociology of law, Social psychology, Social psychiatry, Social disorganization, and Group relations.
New areas and subareas in sociology include cultural sociology, folk sociology, sociology of arts, industrial sociology, medical sociology, military sociology, and sociology of small groups.
Topics like social stratification, mass media, public opinion, and bureaucracy are also explored in sociology.

RELATION OF SOCIOLOGY WITH OTHER SOCIAL SCIENCES

Sociology and History

Sociology is defined as the science of society, studying social life as a whole.
Social life is complex and includes economic, legal, aesthetic, religious, and political aspects.
Sociology requires insights from other social sciences to understand social life comprehensively.
Sociology and history are closely related, with some arguing they are indistinguishable.
History records societal life, changes, ideas, and material conditions affecting societies.
Sociology studies historical development, social institutions, and various stages of societal life.
Sociology depends on history for factual material, while history benefits from sociological interpretation.
Arnold Toynbee’s “A Study of History” is valuable for sociology, showing the interdependence of history and sociology.
Sociology provides social context for historical study, making history meaningful through sociological perspective.
G.E. Howard notes that history is past sociology, and sociology is present history.
Despite their relationship, sociology and history are distinct disciplines.
History is concrete and specific, while sociology is abstract and general.
History deals with events in all aspects, whereas sociology examines social relationships and their impact.
Historians describe events like wars in detail, while sociologists analyze their social significance and effects.

Sociology and Political Science

Sociology and political science have been closely related historically.
Morris Ginsberg notes sociology’s roots in politics and philosophy of history.
Classical works like Plato’s “Republic” and Aristotle’s “Politics” were comprehensive treatises on political science.
Political science deals with principles of organization and government of human society.
Without sociology, the study of political science would be incomplete.
Social processes influence forms of government, laws, and state activities.
Barnes observes that political theory changes have been influenced by sociology.
Sociology relies on political science for understanding political aspects of society.
Comte and Spencer saw no difference between sociology and political science.
G.E.G. Catlin views them as facets of the same figure.
F.G. Wilson notes the difficulty in distinguishing between sociologists, political theorists, and philosophers.
Eminent sociologists like Durkheim and Weber contributed to political science.
Political sociology combines sociological and political approaches.
Sociology is the science of society; political science is the science of the state.
Sociology has a broader scope, studying all social institutions, while political science focuses on the state and government.
Sociology studies social man and his processes; political science focuses on political man and political associations.
Sociology is a general science; political science is a specialized science of political organization.
Sociology studies both organized and unorganized communities; political science deals only with organized communities.
Sociology addresses both conscious and unconscious activities; political science focuses on conscious activities.
Political science assumes man is a political being; sociology explores how and why man became a political being.

Sociology and Economics

Society is influenced by economic factors; economic processes are determined by social environments.
The relationship between sociology and economics is very intimate.
Economics is defined as the study of wealth in production, distribution, and consumption.
Economics concerns material welfare, which is only a part of human welfare.
Economic problems like unemployment and poverty require consideration of social phenomena.
Sociology aids economics by providing data for economic generalizations.
Economic and social order are interwoven; many issues are both economic and sociological.
Problems such as population growth, environmental pollution, and urbanization involve both economics and sociology.
Theories like socialism and communism are theories of social reorganization.
Thomas views economics as a branch of the comprehensive science of sociology.
Sociology is influenced by economics as economic forces impact social life.
Early sociologists, including Spencer, Sumner, Durkheim, and Weber, analyzed economic institutions.
Karl Marx and Fredrick Engels viewed economic factors as the sole motive force of society.
Economic determination has influenced social scientists’ theories.
Despite their interdependence, sociology and economics are distinct.
The field of sociology is wider than economics, encompassing all social relationships, not just economic ones.
Sociology has a comprehensive viewpoint, focusing on social aspects of economic activities.
Economics is older than sociology; economics is more mature, while sociology is a more recent science.

Sociology and Ethics

Ethics is the science of morality, concerned with the moral rightness and wrongness of human action.
Ethics and sociology are closely related; society influences individual moral development and vice versa.
Sociology studies social groups and aspects of human life, including moral aspects.
Ethics highlights moral life in primitive individuals and institutions, providing a basis for comparing modern and primitive moral conduct.
Personal good must align with the general good of society, linking ethics and sociology closely.
Some ethical thinkers consider ethics a branch of sociology due to their close relationship.
Sociology is a positive science, studying institutions and customs as they are, while ethics is a normative science, studying what institutions and customs ought to be.
Sociology studies men and social relations collectively; ethics studies individuals as moral agents.
Sociology is speculative with no direct practical bearing, whereas ethics has practical implications for conduct, formulating rules of behavior.
Sociology uses historical methods; ethics explains conduct with reference to ideals or ends.
Sociology focuses on the progress of social groups over time, while ethics focuses on societal progress from a moral perspective.

Sociology and Social Psychology

Social psychology deals with mental processes of individuals as social beings, focusing on the influence of group life on individual development and vice versa.
It studies the impact of the individual mind on groups and the development of mental life within and between groups.
Sociology studies various types of social groups and their composition in society.
Social psychology relies on sociology for understanding human nature and behavior, as sociology provides material on society’s structure, organization, and culture.
Sociologists use social psychology to understand psychological factors affecting social structure changes.
Social psychology is seen as linking psychology and sociology, similar to biochemistry’s role in biology and chemistry.
Some, like Karl Pearson, argue that social psychology and sociology are not separate sciences, reflecting their mutual dependence.
A scientific study of social phenomena requires a psychological basis, explored through direct observation and experimentation.
McDougall and Freud believed social life could be reduced to psychological forces, implying sociology could become a branch of psychology.
This view is contested as social behavior is also influenced by economic, geographical, and political factors.
Sociology and social psychology, despite their interdependence, are distinct fields.
Sociology studies society as a whole, while social psychology focuses on individuals in group interactions and their effects.
Sociology and social psychology approach social life differently; sociology from a community perspective and social psychology from a psychological factors perspective.

Sociology and Jurisprudence

Jurisprudence is the science of law, focusing on the study of legal principles.
Sociology, the study of man in society, is closely related to jurisprudence because law regulates human actions in society.
Lawyers focus on rules that people should follow, while sociologists examine how these rules impact behavior and whether they are observed.
The study of law from a sociological perspective is known as Sociology of Law or Sociological Jurisprudence.
Important branches of Sociological Jurisprudence include criminology and penology.
Criminology studies crime and criminal behavior from a social perspective.
Penology examines the effects of penal systems and the effectiveness of rehabilitation in changing criminal behavior.
These branches provide valuable insights into how laws function and how crime can be addressed effectively.
Sociology contributes to understanding the human and social aspects of law, influencing the creation and execution of laws.