SOC231H5 Chapter Notes - Chapter 1: Falsifiability, Scientific Method, Class Consciousness
Introduction (1-35): 21-58 Digital
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Overview of Marx (37-54): 59-73 Digital
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Chapter 1: Introduction
What is Sociological Theory?
Theory: is a system of generalize statements or propositions about
phenomena
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Scientific theories:
Explain and predict the phenomena in question
1.
Produce testable and thus falsifiable hypotheses
2.
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Universal laws are intended to explain and predict events occurring in the
natural or physical world
Example: Isaac Newton's three laws of motion
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There are significant differences between social and other scientific
theories:
Sociological theories tend to be more evaluative and critical
theories in the natural sciences
Sociological theories are often rooted in implicit moral assumptions
that contrast with traditional notions of scientific objectivity
§
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Societies are always in the process of change, while the changes
themselves can be spurred by any number of causes
It is more difficult to fashion universal laws to explain societal
dynamics
§
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These two aspects of sociological theory are responsible, in part, for the
form in which much sociological theory is written:
The significance of moral assumptions
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The nature of the subject matter
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Reading #1
Tuesday, October 20, 2020
10:02 PM
: is a system of generalize statements or propositions about
Universal laws are intended to explain and predict events occurring in the
There are significant differences between social and other scientific
critical than
implicit moral assumptions
that contrast with traditional notions of scientific objectivity
Societies are always in the process of change, while the changes
It is more difficult to fashion universal laws to explain societal
These two aspects of sociological theory are responsible, in part, for the
Why Read Original Works?
There is a significant problem with reading only interpretations of original
works: the secondary and original texts are not the same
Secondary texts do not simply translate what the theorist wrote into
simpler terms rather in order to simplify they must revise what an
author has said
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Example of broken telephone and says that secondary texts do the same
sort of thing
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Further complicating the matter is that many of the original works that
make up the core of sociological theory were written in the language other
than English
Language translation is itself an imperfect exercise
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Navigating Sociological Theory: The Questions of "Order" and "Action"
Order and action have been a cornerstone in social thought at least since
the time of the ancient Greek philosophers
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Order: it asks what accounts for the patterns or predictability of behaviour
that leads us to experience social life as routine
Here we have two answers: the collectivist and the individualist
Society is understood as a reality sui generis that operates
according to its own logic distinct from the will of individuals
This orientation has many different names - macro, holistic,
objectivist, structuralist, and the label we use here,
(or collectivist)
□
§
Individualist approaches to order highlight agency: the individual's
capacity to act or to intervene in his or her world
This orientation has earned several names as well
elementarism, subjectivist, and the label we adopt here,
individual (or individualist)
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§
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1.
Action: it considers the factors that motivate individuals or groups to act
There are also two answers here: nonrational and rational
If the motivation for action is primarily nonrational
takes his bearings from subjective ideals, symbolic codes, values,
morals, norms, traditions, the quest for meaning, unconscious
§
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2.
Document Summary
Theory: is a system of generalize statements or propositions about phenomena. Universal laws are intended to explain and predict events occurring in the natural or physical world. There are significant differences between social and other scientific theories: Sociological theories tend to be more evaluative and critical theories in the natural sciences. Sociological theories are often rooted in implicit moral assumptions that contrast with traditional notions of scientific objectivity. Societies are always in the process of change, while the changes themselves can be spurred by any number of causes. It is more difficult to fashion universal laws to explain societal dynamics. These two aspects of sociological theory are responsible, in part, for the form in which much sociological theory is written: : is a system of generalize statements or propositions about. Universal laws are intended to explain and predict events occurring in the.
