• The word Sociology originates from the Latin word socius (companion) and the Greek suffix -logy (study of).

• Sociology means the study of society and social institutions.

• Sociology evolved as a nascent discipline under the influence of natural sciences.

• The Darwinian hypothesis significantly influenced early sociological postulates.

• Some British sociologists viewed human society through the lens of evolutionary theory, similar to the organic evolution of living beings.

• This perspective inspired many linear evolutionary theories and perspectives.

• The ideologies of science, modernism, and rational thought shaped early sociology.

• Early sociologists indulged in grand theoretical speculations instead of being passive learners.

• They sought to maintain distance from other social sciences, asserting that Sociology alone was the true science of society.

• Some claimed Sociology was the most sophisticated science that would emerge at the culmination of all sciences.

• Social institutions were analyzed in terms of their roles, functionalities, and fundamental rules.

• Counter currents within the discipline began to challenge these claims, testing their legitimacy.

• Sociology deals with society, constituent institutions, inter-relationships, and actors.

• It studies patterns in social interactions, making it relatable to everyday life.

• When individuals study society in routine life, they assume the role of sociologists.

• For this reason, Sociology is sometimes termed a commonsensical discipline, though this is debated.

• Despite the debate, Sociology is considered easy to grasp as it deals with daily experiences.

• The discipline provides a vantage point to view oneself and surroundings in an analytically superior way.

• The perspective depends on the vantage point chosen.

• Multiple vantage points lead to numerous explanations of the same phenomenon, sparking debates instead of consensus.

• This openness is the beauty of the discipline, as all arguments with rationale are given space.

• Sociological thought has existed since humans developed a thinking brain, though its formal discipline emerged later.

• The emergence of Sociology as a formal discipline is linked to the period of Modernity.

Modernity and Social Change in Europe and Emergence of Sociology

• The first sociological thought is difficult to trace as the curious human mind always sought to understand its social surroundings since time immemorial.

• Sociological reasoning predates the formal discipline.

• Early sociological deliberations existed in works like Republic of Plato, De Officiis of Cicero, and Arthashastra of Kautilya.

• The discipline was formally systematised in the 19th Century, though preceded by several events.

• Roots of the discipline can be traced to the Late Medieval period of Europe.

• Before the Enlightenment Period, Old Europe was traditional, inward-looking, marked by social evils, ignorance, feudalism, and lack of innovation—hence called the Dark Ages.

• The Renaissance (14th Century, Italy) emerged as a rebirth/re-awakening, reviving golden traditions, culture, and classical heritage.

• Renaissance placed man and humanism at the center of activities, influencing fine arts, literature, and human existence debates.

• This period raised profound questions about human existence in society, laying fertile ground for later sociological thought.

• The Renaissance also gave birth to Modernism, leading to the dawn of Modernity in Europe.

• Modernity (from Latin modernus, meaning just now) signifies new practices against the old, but in sociology it marks a specific cultural and intellectual upheaval shaping the modern world.

• According to Marshall Berman (2010), Modernity was not just new ideas but also about the existential experiences they created and their impact on culture, institutions, and politics.

• Some scholars saw Modernity as a panacea for social deformities.

• Modernity became synonymous with questioning tradition, individualism, freedom of ideas, equality, scientific and technological progress, rationalisation of institutions, capitalism, industrialisation, urbanisation, and secularisation.

• Politically, it introduced nation-state, representative democracy, modern bureaucracy, and, as per Michel Foucault, new forms of surveillance.

• Old beliefs were questioned, and rationality emerged as a new religion.

• Thinkers like Rousseau and Montesquieu developed modern political ideas, while Adam Smith, Ricardo, and J S Mill introduced a new economic order.

• Common thread among them was the rationality of human thought.

• The new order replacing the old created social upheaval and disturbances.

• In this context emerged early sociological thinkers like Hegel, Comte, and Spencer, largely Western but with global consequences.

• Events were both discrete and continuous:

  • Industrialisation replaced home-based production, altering economic relations and affecting family, kinship, and household.

  • The French Revolution disrupted the feudal order, introducing radical changes and sharp counter-reactions from conservatives.

• The French Revolution shook society and gave social scientists the task of explaining the upheavals.

• A need emerged for new ways to understand society, sparking the birth of Sociology.

• The birth of Sociology was not simple, but the result of juxtaposed intellectual, material, and political developments.

• The discipline grew within the context of Modernity, combining ideas, material change, and political transformation into a new way of studying society.

Evolution of Modern Sociological Thought

Intellectual Ideas

• The Enlightenment (late 17th–18th Century), led by Montesquieu and Rousseau, emphasised reason and individualism.

• Enlightenment had an indirect influence on the emergence of Sociology.

• As per Irving Zeitlin (1996) in Ideology and the Development of Sociological Theory, early Sociology developed out of Enlightenment ideas.

• Enlightenment thesis put the individual at the centre, whereas Counter-Enlightenment stressed society as the key unit of analysis.

• Enlightenment ideas of rationalism, empiricism, and change-orientation shaped early sociological thought.

• The earliest form of sociological investigation, Positivist Sociology, was rooted in rationality and scientific investigation inspired by Enlightenment.

• Darwin’s theory of organic evolution also strongly influenced early sociology.

• Early thinkers believed society evolves like organisms.

• They were convinced that scientific knowledge of society could solve social ills.

• Auguste Comte, considered the founder of Sociology, believed Sociology would contribute to human welfare and must be a scientific discipline.

• These ideas matured in France, which became the birthplace of Sociology.

• Key figures of French Sociology included Alexis de Tocqueville, Claude Saint-Simon, Auguste Comte, Herbert Spencer, and Emile Durkheim.

• Comte, a disciple of Saint-Simon, was the first to use the term Sociology.

• He envisioned Sociology as a scientific discipline based on Positivism (positive philosophy).

• Comte initially called it social physics, and in 1839, renamed it Sociology.

Material and Social Developments

• Material developments are linked to the Industrial Revolution and growth of capitalism.

• Industrial Revolution introduced the factory system of production, created the middle class, and dismantled feudal estates.

• These changes had both positive outcomes and negative fallout.

• In the economic sphere, industrial cities created a new urban world unlike earlier cities.

• Factory system replaced home-based production.

• The period was marked by soot and grime of factories, overcrowded slums, degradation of labour, poor sanitation, general squalor, and new poverty.

• Workers faced dehumanising conditions under the factory system.

• New crimes, including petty thefts, also emerged.

• In the social sphere, the nuclear family became common.

• This led to increased domestic violence, breakups, and other family issues.

• The middle class emerged as a new structural class, creating new social cleavages.

Political Developments

• The French Revolution, influenced by Enlightenment philosophy, was the biggest event affecting the emergence of Sociology.

• Though Europe had a general context, France’s unique socio-political situation provided the immediate context.

• Pre-Revolution France was trapped in archaic socio-economic conditions, dominated by feudalism.

• Society was divided into three estates – nobility, clergy, commoners – with the first two ruling at the expense of the commoners.

• This unequal system bred discontent and tension, leading to the Revolution which replaced feudalism with a new order.

• Ideals of democracy, liberty, and fraternity (from Montesquieu and Rousseau) became new guiding principles.

• The old system resisted change, creating uncertainty, anarchy, and insecurity.

• Early thinkers like Saint-Simon, Comte, Spencer, and Durkheim sought answers to the upheavals.

• Comte first called this new science Sociology.

• Spencer followed with the idea of social evolution, similar to biological evolution.

• Durkheim established the first Sociology department in France and Europe, institutionalising the discipline.

• Thus, while Europe provided general impetus, Sociology distinctly emerged in France in the backdrop of the French Revolution.

• Modernity impacted social, economic, and political life – initially positive but soon showing negative fallout.

• Modernity’s challenges fostered new intellectual ideas driven by material changes and political shifts.

• Existing disciplines failed to answer these questions, leading to the rise of a new science of society – Sociology.

• Sociology was seen as the science of the new industrial society.

• John Harriss (2000) argued Sociology arose in direct response to problems of Modernity.

• Western Sociology emerged as an attempt to make sense of Modernity and its consequences.

• The young discipline required subject matter, perspectives, and methods, heavily influenced by natural sciences.

• Early sociologists emphasised scientific, rational, empirical methods instead of metaphysical speculation.

• Social Survey was the first tool – State of Poor Report showed that poverty is social, not natural.

• Historical records also provided factual bases, influencing many early thinkers.

• Key early perspectives came from Comte, Spencer, and Durkheim.

• Durkheim’s evolutionary and functionalist views proved pioneering and became foundational to Sociology.

• Critical theorists (neo-Marxists of Frankfurt School, 1930s) like Theodor Adorno and Zygmunt Bauman argued that modernity deviated from Enlightenment ideals, producing alienation and commodity fetishism.

• In contemporary times, modernity is seen differently.

• Shmuel Eisenstadt (2003) in Comparative Civilizations and Multiple Modernities argued modernity has multiple meanings and is not exclusively European.

• Modernity is a plural condition, liberating it from being a solely Western concept.

• Sociologists now explore impacts of multiple modernities on Sociology, moving beyond a single model of evolution.