explain how a sociological perspective can make us seem less in control of our lives.

A note on the class discussion session

What is Sociology?

Sociology is the "scientific" study of society; it includes patterns of social relationships, social interaction, culture, etc. The term sociology was coined by French philosopher Auguste Comte (1798-1857). Comte proposed systematically studying society and human social activities in all aspects. In the academic context, sociology is one of several social sciences, including anthropology, demography, economics, history, political science, social psychology, and sociology.

The quest to understand society is vital. Therefore, to understand the social world, we must first understand the social forces that affect our lives. Sociology can help us better understand our actions and the society in which we live; it can help us examine how culture influences how we think, feel, and act; it can also help us make decisions -- either by ourselves or the community at large. Furthermore, sociology can help us gather systematic information from which to make decisions and provide insights into what is going on in our surroundings.

Sociologists believe that our social surroundings influence our beliefs and perceptions, as well as our thoughts and actions. In other words, the sociological study of society (in Western Europe) developed in response to social changes. For example, during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, Europeans were exploring the world. As voyagers returned home from Asia, Africa, the Americas, and the South Seas, they came back with amazing stories of other societies and civilizations. As the newly "discovered" cultures and civilizations became well-known, European people began to think more critically of their community and way of life, which brought about " Enlightenment " and rational and critical thinking.

During the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, Western European people were shocked by social upheavals at all fronts - cultural, religious, political, economic, and technological ~ that permanently changed the social order forever. Comte was particularly fascinated by the events of his own time. He tried to understand the human drama in his time - i.e., the French and Industrial Revolutions and the social consequences of rural-urban migration. In other words, these changes made people lose confidence in their long-held religious beliefs and have negative views of the existing cultural values and social order.

The Enlightenment was one of those historical movements in which social thinkers believed they were more edified than their fellow citizens; they set out to enlighten them, thinking that human reason could combat ignorance, superstition, and tyranny and build a better world. Their principal targets were religion (embodied in the Catholic Church) and the domination of society by a hereditary aristocracy.

For Comte, these transformations were not only for France and Europe but also for human history. With knowledge of the late and early 18th century writers about how society ought to operate, Comte examined two main issues in developing a theory of society: (I) what holds society together, which he called " social statics," and (II) how society changes, or "social dynamics." Sociology was therefore developed as a field of study in response to a series of social changes that were taking place in Europe during the Comte's own time. Comte adopted the idea of historical stages of knowledge. He believed that laws could explain social phenomena in the same way as the laws of gravitational theory can define the evolution of heavenly bodies. Furthermore, Comte saw the need for a unified social science to explain the existing social organizations and guide social planning for a better future. This unifying social science he called "sociology" for the first time.

Comte's "law of the three stages" states that human intellectual development had moved historically from a Theological stage (in which the world and human destiny within it were explained in terms of gods and spirits) to a Metaphysical phase (a phase in which speculative philosophical abstractions guided explanations) and finally to the positive stage (Characterized by the awareness of the limitations of human knowledge). According to Comte, knowledge is relative to man's nature as a species and his varying social and historical situations.

A note on the class discussion session

What is Sociology?

Sociology is the "scientific" study of society; it includes patterns of social relationships, social interaction, culture, etc. The term sociology was coined by French philosopher Auguste Comte (1798-1857). Comte proposed systematically studying society and human social activities in all aspects. In the academic context, sociology is one of several social sciences, including anthropology, demography, economics, history, political science, social psychology, and sociology.

The quest to understand society is vital. Therefore, to understand the social world, we must first understand the social forces that affect our lives. Sociology can help us better understand our actions and the society in which we live; it can help us examine how culture influences how we think, feel, and act; it can also help us make decisions -- either by ourselves or the community at large. Furthermore, sociology can help us gather systematic information from which to make decisions and provide insights into what is going on in our surroundings.

Sociologists believe that our social surroundings influence our beliefs and perceptions, as well as our thoughts and actions. In other words, the sociological study of society (in Western Europe) developed in response to social changes. For example, during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, Europeans were exploring the world. As voyagers returned home from Asia, Africa, the Americas, and the South Seas, they came back with amazing stories of other societies and civilizations. As the newly "discovered" cultures and civilizations became well-known, European people began to think more critically of their community and way of life, which brought about " Enlightenment " and rational and critical thinking.

During the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, Western European people were shocked by social upheavals at all fronts - cultural, religious, political, economic, and technological ~ that permanently changed the social order forever. Comte was particularly fascinated by the events of his own time. He tried to understand the human drama in his time - i.e., the French and Industrial Revolutions and the social consequences of rural-urban migration. In other words, these changes made people lose confidence in their long-held religious beliefs and have negative views of the existing cultural values and social order.

The Enlightenment was one of those historical movements in which social thinkers believed they were more edified than their fellow citizens; they set out to enlighten them, thinking that human reason could combat ignorance, superstition, and tyranny and build a better world. Their principal targets were religion (embodied in the Catholic Church) and the domination of society by a hereditary aristocracy.

For Comte, these transformations were not only for France and Europe but also for human history. With knowledge of the late and early 18th century writers about how society ought to operate, Comte examined two main issues in developing a theory of society: (I) what holds society together, which he called " social statics," and (II) how society changes, or "social dynamics." Sociology was therefore developed as a field of study in response to a series of social changes that were taking place in Europe during the Comte's own time. Comte adopted the idea of historical stages of knowledge. He believed that laws could explain social phenomena in the same way as the laws of gravitational theory can define the evolution of heavenly bodies. Furthermore, Comte saw the need for a unified social science to explain the existing social organizations and guide social planning for a better future. This unifying social science he called "sociology" for the first time.

Comte's "law of the three stages" states that human intellectual development had moved historically from a Theological stage (in which the world and human destiny within it were explained in terms of gods and spirits) to a Metaphysical phase (a phase in which speculative philosophical abstractions guided explanations) and finally to the positive stage (Characterized by the awareness of the limitations of human knowledge). According to Comte, knowledge is relative to man's nature as a species and his varying social and historical situations.