SOCB42H3 Lecture Notes - Lecture 10: Social Change, Proletariat, Alexis De Tocqueville
Document Summary
Sociology and the hierarchy of sciences, simple to complex. Comte had radical ideas, reflected on the sciences of his day, not only was there a history, there was an order of complexion in history. We need to pass through all these sciences because each one is needed for the other one, and we are moving forward with complexity. Observation: what we observe is important, not what we imagine. Look for laws, not causes: rocks fall according to the law of gravity not nature or the will of gods. Relative: under certain conditions can expect particular outcomes. Comte called positivist- positivism- social world is a closed system, he believes there are laws that govern us. Rather then people having free will we find ourselves in a structured environment. Certain relative element in the law, humans behave a certain way under certain conditions, as conditions change so does the law. Look at people in different settings, times and places indirect reports.
