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Sociology

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HISTORY OF SOCIOLOGY

● The word sociology itself actually derives from the Latin word socius (companion) and the Greek word logos (study of ). Thus,
sociology is most literally the study of companionship (Abercrombie, Hill, and Turner 2000, 333).
● The roots of sociology are found in the questions the ancient Greeks asked about the relationship between nature and law or
custom in the determination of human behavior.
● Sociology is rooted in the works of philosophers, including Plato (427–347 B.C.), Aristotle (384–322 B.C.), and Confucius (551–479
B.C.).
● Chinese historian Ma Tuan-Lin developed, in the thirteenth century, a sociological history by looking at the social factors
influencing history in his general-knowledge encyclopedia Wen Hsien T’ung K’ao (General Study of the Literary Remains). Ibn
● Iba Khaldun (1332–1406),a Muslim Arab sociologist, philosopher, and historian widely acknowledged to be one of the greatest
social scientists of the Middle Ages.His Muqaddimah: An Introduction to History is known for going beyond descriptive history to
an analysis of historical processes of change based on his insights into “the nature of things which are born of civilization”
(Khaldun quoted in Becker and Barnes, 1961)
● Enlightenment thinkers also helped set the stage for the sociologists that would follow. The Enlightenment “was the first time in
history that thinkers tried to provide general explanations of the social world. They were able to detach themselves, at least in
principle, from expounding some existing ideology and to attempt to lay down general principles that explained social life”
(Collins 1994, 17). Writers of this period included a range of well-known philosophers, such as John Locke; David Hume; Voltaire
(the pseudonym of François-Marie Arouet);Immanuel Kant; Charles-Louis de Secondat, Baron de La Brède et de Montesquieu;
Thomas Hobbes; and Jean-Jacques Rousseau.
● As Macionis (1995, 12) explains to introductory students, scholars have been interested in the nature of society throughout
history. They typically focused on what the ideal society would be like. During the 1800s, however, scholars began studying how
society actually is and how social arrangements actually operate (how society “works”). Armed with this knowledge, they felt they
couldbetter attack social problems and bring about social change (Collins 1994, 42).These scholars became the first sociologists.
● The term sociology was coined by French philosopher Auguste Comte (1798–1857), who would become known as the “Father of
Sociology.”.He first publicly used the term in his work Positive Philosophy (1896, orig. 1838; Abercrombie, Hill, and Turner 2000,
67). Originally an engineering student, Comte became secretary and pupil to French social philosopher Claude Henri de Rouvroy
Comte de Saint-Simon (1760–1825). Saint-Simon was an advocate for scientific and social reform. He advocated applying
scientific principles to learn how society is organized. Armed with this knowledge, he believed he could ascertain how best to
change, and govern, society to address social problems such as poverty.
● Comte saw history as divided into three intellectual stages. The first, or theological, stage included the medieval period in which society was seen as
reflecting the will of a deity. The second, or metaphysical, stage arose during the Enlightenment and focused on forces of “nature,” rather than God,
to explain social events. Comte considered his own time period the third stage, which he termed the positivistic, or scientific, stage.
During Comte’s lifetime, scientists were learning more about the laws that govern the physical world. For example, in the area of physics, Sir Isaac
Newton (1641–1727) had developed the law of gravity. Advances were also being made in other natural sciences, such as biology. Comte felt that
science could also be used to study the social world. Just as there are testable facts regarding gravity and other natural laws, Comte thought that
scientific analyses could also discover the laws governing our social lives. It was in this context that Comte introduced the concept of positivism to
sociology—a way to understand the social world based on scientific facts. He believed that, with this new understanding, people could build a better
future. He envisioned a process of social change in which sociologists played crucial roles in guiding society. Other events of that time period also
influenced the development of sociology.
The nineteenth and twentieth centuries were times of many social upheavals and changes in the social order that interested the
early sociologists. As George Ritzer (1988, 6–12) notes, the political revolutions sweeping Europe during the eighteenth and
nineteenth centuries led to a focus on social change and the establishment of social order that still concerns sociologists today.
Many early sociologists were also concerned with the Industrial Revolution and rise of capitalism and socialism. Additionally, the
growth of cities and religious transformations were causing many changes in people’s lives. These “early founders of sociology all
had a vision of using sociology” (Turner 1998, 250). Sharing Comte’s belief, many early sociologists came from other disciplines
and made significant efforts to call attention to social concerns and bring about social change.
In Europe, for example, economist and philosopher Karl Marx (1818–83),teamed with wealthy industrialist Friedrich Engels
(1820–95), to address class inequality. Writing during the Industrial Revolution, when many factory owners were lavishly wealthy
and many factory workers despairingly poor, they attacked the rampant inequalities of the day and focused on the role of
capitalist economic structures in perpetuating these inequalities.
Sociologists are also responsible for some of the now familiar aspects of our everyday lives. For example, sociologist William Foote Whyte
(1914–2000), improved restaurant service by developing the spindles that waitstaff in many diners use to submit food orders to the kitchen
(Porter 1962).

Robert K. Merton (1910–2003) developed the concept of what would become the focus group, now widely used in the business world.
Sociological perspectives are also the basis of many concepts
and terms we use on a daily basis. Lawyers plead “extenuating circumstances”
on their clients’ behalf, an acknowledgment of the sociological position that social forces influence human behavior; to talk about “fighting
the system” acknowledges that social structures exist and influence our lives (Babbie 1996).

Sociologists have also been actively involved throughout the civil rights movement.
Ida B. Wells-Barnett (1862–1931), published and spoke out against lynching.
W.E.B. Du Bois (1868–1963),was involved for most of a century in studying race and social activism.
Gunnar Myrdal’s An American Dilemma (1944) focused public attention on race.
Although they have not traditionally received the recognition of their
white male counterparts, women and sociologists of color have made significant
contributions to the discipline since its founding. In recent years, efforts have
been undertaken to reinvigorate the voices of these “lost” sociologists.
What we know about their lives and works shows some truly outstanding accomplishments. For example, Comte’s Positive Philosophy (1896,
orig. 1838) was translated into English by Harriet Martineau (1802–76).

Martineau was a prolific writer and bestselling author in her own right on a variety of social issues. Her work earned her recognition as the
first female sociologist and “Mother of Sociology.”Comte was so pleased with the results of her translation that he had her abridgment
retranslated back into French.

Today, women and persons of color continue to make important contributions to the discipline and beyond. Rosabeth Moss Kanter has
become an internationally renowned
name in studying and improving organizations. Coramae Richey Mann has challenged the criminal-justice system and its treatment of
minorities, youth, and women. William Julius Wilsonhas challenged thinking on class, race, and poverty. Patricia Hill Collins has increased
our understanding of how race, class, and gender together all have social consequences in our world.

References:
https://pressbooks.howardcc.edu/soci101/chapter/history-of-sociology/

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