A tradition of skepticism…

In early history, people focused their efforts on gaining an understanding of the physical world.

Inquiries into the physical world  Ptolemy, 2 nd century BCE  Copernicus, 1500s CE  Galileo, 1600s  Newton, 1600s  He explained the movement of everything visible in the universe  But the church maintained that it was God who controlled the social world (i.e. the “invisible”)

Early attempts at Sociology  Auguste Comte,  Coined “sociology”  use the scientific method and advise people how to live

Early attempts at Sociology  Emile Durkheim, France  Pre-modern society vs. Modern society  In pre-modern society, people had been held together because of their likeness, but in modern society, held together by differences.  Social patterns do exist!

Origins of Modern Sociology  Ferdinand Tonnies, , Germany  Agreed with Durkheim but with a twist: he wanted to understand how social relationships between people differed in pre-modern and modern societies

Tonnies concluded there are two categories of social relationships: “Gemeinschaft” “Gesellschaft”  Communal relationships  Social relationships that people enter into as ends in and of themselves  For emotional reasons  He thought pre-modern society was more like this.  Goal-driven relationships  Social relationships that people enter into as means to specific ends  For the purpose of achieving a goal  He thought modern society was more like this. Thus, the type of the relationship determines the rules of the relationship!

Test these definitions! Partner up and discuss: Which of the following types of relationships are most likely to be gemeinschaft? What about gesellschaft? a. Friend-friend b. Wife-husband c. Doctor-patient d. Retailer- customer e. Minister- parishioner f. Parent-child g. Worker-boss

Origins of Modern Sociology  Max Weber, , Germany  “Rational behavior:” seeing each other as means to an end; rational as “calculating”  Wanted to know why society seemed to drive us toward “rational” behaviors

Individual think time:  Think about two things you do for what Weber would call rational reasons? In what respect are your motives rational?  Consider the flip side. Think about two things you do for what Weber might consider non- rational reasons? In what respect are your motives non-rational?

Origins of Modern Sociology  Karl Marx, Germany  Economics mattered  Class distinctions mattered  Economics was the driving force behind social decisions

Origins of Modern Sociology  Herbert Spencer, , Germany  Believed societies evolved  His work published six years BEFORE Darwin’s  the competition to survive will be won by “the best”

Sociology in the United States  US role in the field came later than Europe  1 st course at Yale  1 st sociology dept. at University of Chicago, 1892  American Sociological Association, 1905

Sociology in the United States  Focused on solving specific social problems  Jane Addams  Social welfare  W.E.B. DuBois  Racial inequalities & ethnic differences

The Place of Sociology in Modern Society  Social world viewed as worthy of study  By using scientific tools we could make sense of the social world.

Challenge question: Generally, the banker-client relationship in modern society is gesellschaft. Yet, from watching television advertisements for banks, one might conclude that the banker-client relationship is supposed to be gemeinschaft. For example, many banks seem to make a big deal of claiming to be “friendly bankers” or “good neighbors.”  Why would banks promote their services as gemeinschaft rather than gesellschaft?  What, if any, danger is there in thinking of your relationship with your banker as gemeinschaft when it is really gesellschaft?