What is Sociological Theory? Robert Wonser SOC 368 – Classical Sociological Theory Spring 2014

Classical Sociological Theory2 Theory What is it? Three Basic Characteristics:  abstract  testable  explains, describes, explores or predicts some aspect of social life.

Classical Sociological Theory3 Theory is not to be confused with: Ideology Scientific/Empirical Observation Religion Philosophy

Classical Sociological Theory4

5 Sociological Theory and Social Theory Today distinctions are often made between Sociological Theory and Social Theory. Sociological Theory is strongly oriented towards science and scientific testing. Theories are developed and their validity is tested through scientific methods. Sociological Theories are expressed in propositions. Social Theory tends to be more ideological making statements about how the world could be, or should be. It tends to be very politically motivated theory focusing upon consciousness raising and social change.

Classical Sociological Theory6 Types of Sociological/Social Theory: Positivistic (Scientific) Interpretive/Hermeneutics Critical Theory

Classical Sociological Theory7 Examples of Social Theory Max Weber: “Society has become an iron cage of rationality.” Karl Marx: “Philosophers have only interpreted the world … the point, however, is to change it.” Pierre Bourdieu: “Individuals embody a habitus as a structured structure and a structuring structure.” Michel Foucault: “A new type of society has emerged, a disciplinary society of surveillance.” George Ritzer: “Society has given rise to a new means of consumption based upon McDonalds.” Jean Baudrillard: “Everyday life is dominated by simulations.”

Classical Sociological Theory8 Examples of Sociological Theory Sociological Theories are typically expressed with formal propositions: A proposition expresses the relationship between two concepts. Examples of propositional forms: The greater the X the greater the Y The greater the X the less the Y The less the X the less the Y The less the X the greater the Y X and Y are concepts, and are things which must be able to vary, or take on more than one value.

Classical Sociological Theory9 Durkheim Example of Sociological Theory Emile Durkheim asks a very basic question: Why do some people become so depressed that they commit suicide? Is there a sociological explanation for suicide? Theoretical Proposition: The more social ties a person has the less likely they are to commit suicide. What are the two concepts here? The number of social ties Decision to commit suicide. These concepts keep the proposition at the theoretical level because they are abstract.

Classical Sociological Theory10 How did Durkheim test this theory (i.e. How did he convert his abstract, theoretical proposition into an empirical, real-world hypothesis)? He developed real world measures of the number of social ties. He developed a real world measure of the decision to commit suicide.

Classical Sociological Theory11 Real World Measures of the Number of Social Ties Type of religious participation Family type (married, divorced, single, etc.) Number of children Gender Military participation Real world measures of the decision to commit suicide: Cause of death listed on death certificates

Classical Sociological Theory12 Following Durkheim The statement that … Married people, compared to unmarried people, are less like to commit suicide. … is not a theory. It is an empirical hypothesis. Although it is testable, it is not abstract. It is too concrete, and too tied to a specific real world measure. A theory should be able to be applied to a whole range of real world instances.

Classical Sociological Theory13 The Social Context of the Emergence and Development of Sociological Theory Sociology is a product of the Enlightenment (17th-18th Centuries) Philosophical Principles: Scientific Understanding Freedom Progress Social Development Individual Potential Reason

Classical Sociological Theory14 Key Social Transformations (17th and 18th Centuries): Scientific Revolution Religious Revolution Educational Revolution (Universities) Political Revolutions Industrial/Technological Revolution Economic Revolution Urban Revolution Revolution in Social Organization

Classical Sociological Theory15 The early development of Sociological Theory had a two-fold source: It was a conservative reaction to the Enlightenment tradition. It evolved as a serious attempt to understand the changing nature of society during the 18th and 19th centuries.

Classical Sociological Theory16 Comparison of Enlightenment (philosophes) and Sociological Thought EnlightenmentSociological emphasis on the individualemphasis on groups - society, church, family individual produces societysociety produces the individual individual is the atom of societyindividuals are "abstractions" segmentation and autonomy of social partsinterdependency and integration of social parts social change is progressivesocial change is disruptive society produces constraints on individualssociety benefits the individual groups are produced through social contracts (convenient) group life is fundamental to society emphasis on reason and rationalityemphasis on non-rational (emotional) factors individual freedom and equalityauthority and hierarchy

Classical Sociological Theory17 Key Ideas of Early Theorists We are headed into an increasingly centralized world with less individual freedom (Alexis de Tocqueville) We are evolving in a direction of a world dominated by science (Auguste Comte) The world is moving in the direction of increasing order and harmony (Herbert Spencer)

Classical Sociological Theory18 Key Ideas of Early Theorists Capitalism is based on the exploitation of the workers by the capitalists (Karl Marx) The modern world offers less moral cohesion than did earlier societies (Emile Durkheim) The modern world is an iron cage of rational systems from which there is no escape (Max Weber)

Classical Sociological Theory19 Key Ideas of Early Theorists The city spawns a particular type of person (Georg Simmel) Gender inequality explains most of the individual experience, the ills of society, and history (Charlotte Perkins Gilman). A “veil” rather than a wall separates African Americans and whites (W.E.B. Du Bois).

Classical Sociological Theory20 Key Ideas of Early Theorists People engage in conspicuous consumption (Thorstein Veblen) People’s minds and their conceptions of themselves are shaped by their social experiences (George Herbert Mead). Society is an integrated systems of structures and functions (Talcott Parsons).

Classical Sociological Theory21 Early Traditions of Sociological Theory Subsequent sociologists have grouped these thinkers into categories: Functionalism *August Comte *Emile Durkheim *Herbert Spencer Max Weber Conflict Theory *Karl Marx *Max Weber Georg Simmel Symbolic Interaction *George Herbert Mead *Charles Horton Cooley Social Exchange Theory *George Simmel Adam Smith Phenomenology *Alfred Schutz Edmund Husserl Critical Theory Karl Marx Max Weber Multi-Cultural Theory *W.E.B. DuBois *Charlotte Perkins Gilman

Classical Sociological Theory22 Why these people? 1) Important time and played a central role in creating sociology and sociological theory. 2) Ideas continue to be relevant to sociology today.