SOC 2106 Lecture Notes - Lecture 2: Social Fact, Natural Disaster, Ritualism In The Church Of England

• School: University of Ottawa
• Department: Sociology
• Course: SOC 2106
• Professor: Sam Alvaro

Document Summary

1/24/17 (2) defining deviance and social problems: a brief review of a social problem (pt. 2) What is it: a theory is a set of interrelated propositions, constructed and fitting together logically, which claims to explain one or more aspects of the world around us. Why is it important: explanations can be described as the stories we tell each other in attempts to produce some order in our lives, theories outline paths that lead to particular outcomes. They allow us to feel that we know why something happened, and whether or not, under what condition, it is likely to occur again. Popularity: popularity does not mean validity. Scope: the range of phenomena that a theory can explain. Parsimony: the simplest explanation with the fewest leaps of logic (is the most correct). Interested in social facts" the effect of social structure on behaviour. His famous work le suicide studies cross-cultural differences in suicide rates.