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Sociology notes;
There are many important concepts developed within sociology, but the most important of
them all to the field itself is the social structural concepts
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Therefore, society is the various patterns of social relationships that emerge and develop
between its members
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Thus, sociologist pre se do not see society as an aggregate of individuals that act but rather
look at what collects them together in communities, groups, class et al
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However, the first argument treats
society as a composition of individuals who act and through there actions they produce social
relations
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These two positions, in strictly theoretical terms, are labelled Action sociology and
Structuralist sociology
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Action in its self is
subjective to the actor in the sense that it is determined by the interests, purposes and values
of the individual
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This, therefore means, that such things as class, races, states and so on, are all
acting in accordance with there own interests
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Thus, the individual is not a “character” that appears
in the langue of structuralism
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Which, therefore means that their personality, interests, views and so on are the products of

there environment, which in turn means that individual agency is a myth in so far as the
individual will only be acting as a product of his group not of his own will
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They instead insist that society is an emergent reality that
results from the association of individuals
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7 Notes; Theories and theorising
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The theory lies at the heart of sociology as it allows individual theorist to understand as well
as to explain the social world
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The beginnings of Sociological thinkingEarly attempts at social understanding took the form of myths or poetry and where often
pious in nature
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Early social theory- of the Enlightenment kind- was often individualistic and saw social life
as rational, calculating and purely based on the want of individuals to improve themselves
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A more socially directed mode of thinking came to fruition as a direct result of the rise of
industrial capitalism that was a product of the industrial revolution
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This form of social orientated sociological thinking, which grew out of the
industrial revolution was labelled materialism
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This
school of thought is often contrasted with idealism witch saw society as having a cultural
spirit that was the basis for there national traditions
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Comte

attempted, in spite of as well as in the vain of Hegel’s work, to attempt to conduct an analysis
of the constituent elements of society, whereas Hegel had a very broad view of the social
character of human life
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All
observation, Kant argued depends upon the way in which experience is being interpreted in
relation to current cultural concerns
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g
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History in Hegel’s thought was a movement from local kinship based culture to nation states,
wherein, the identity of the people was part of the state, this would then lead to the
integration of nation-states through transnational links which would create the world spirit
which would be an all-embracing culture spirit
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The scientist must,
therefore, observe things directly, compare and contrast phenomena, these observations then
had to be explained by theoretical laws that explained the relations between observed events
and thus predict the future
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Which, therefore means a
change in one institution will likely bring about change in the others
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The
main institutions being the division of Labour, it’s langue and it’s religion
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The

connections between parts of the social system are there functions e
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how they produce
solidarity
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Thus, to study social dynamics is to attempt to deduce laws of succession e
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how cultural’s
change
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g
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Spencer and social evolution;
Herbert Spencer's ideas have widely be said to have drawn on the work of Comte, especially
his works on Social dynamics and Social statistics
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The founding fathers of Sociological thought;

Karl Marx; Social conflict
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But in the end, he did come to write down his ideas and thus became one of the founders of
sociological thinking
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The central narrative of Marx’s
ideas on alienation focus on the historical development of economic arraignments
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According to Marx’s, this
occurs because of the development of particular property arrangements as well as the

development of the division of labour
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Marx’s, therefore, thought that this alienation would eventually lead to conflict as the
propertied class is benefiting from employing the propertyless classes to do alienating work
and thus, the conflict would be over the distribution of economic resources
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The base concerns the modes(or means) production and the superstructure
which is the family relations, law, politics and so are all determined by those who own the
means of production

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