SOC 201 Chapter 4: Chapter 4.2
Document Summary
This concept of empirical is an important one in science. Empirical refers to things that can be observed through the use of one"s physical senses sight, hearing, touch, taste, and smell. If a thing cannot be seen, heard, touched, tasted, or smelled or, more specifically, if it is not observable it is of little interest to sociologists. For example, a sociologist doing research might well ask, Do people in a particular society believe in god? . What impact do religious beliefs have on a person"s behavior? . What are the manifest and latent functions of religion in society? . Is god more fond of buddhists, christians, jews, or muslims? . Is religion x more correct in its beliefs and practices than religion y? . Admittedly, anyone who preaches unquestioned obedience to authority will be troubled by sociology. Obviously, you cannot have a successful dictatorship as long as people are questioning authority and being skeptical about its claims.
