SOAN 2400 Lecture Notes - An Essay Concerning Human Understanding, Lynn Mcdonald, Critical Theory
Document Summary
Comte: came up with the term (logy: study a high level, socio: points to society) Social philosophy is much older than sociology, came up in ancient greece, blossomed during the enlightenment. Social philosophers study what ought to be where as sociologists study what is. Sociologists are often interested in reoccurring pattern; similar to historians they look at past events but keep an eye out for patterns. Historically, sociological classical theory written between the time of the great french revolution 1789-1799 and ww1 (1919) Monday, september 9th, 2013: the value of theory: the contemporary relevance of old. Theory theories are explanations models, social theories suggest causes. Identification of causes are the heart of theories. Models are theories when we choose to see society in a particular way (i. e. society can be seen as a complex computer system used as a means of communication). theories are road maps (hurst)