Sociology Theory
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22 terms
Terms | Definitions |
|---|---|
 What are the tenets of positivism? | 1. It seeks to model Sociology after the natural sciences. 2. Studies objective and observable phenomena. 3. Values have no meanin. 4. Quantitative. 5. Cause and effects relationships (makes predictions.) |
| What are Lynn and Lieberson's arguments against sociology's positivist stance? | 1. Incomplete theories are not erroneous. 2. Too many conditions to correctly predict the future. 3. Positivism/the science model is too deterministic. |
| What does the sociological imagination ask of us? | It asks us to consider both individual agency (personal troubles and choices) as well as the larger historical and social contexts (public issues) when drawing conclusions about social phenomena. It is not an individual's fault for their situation (fundamental attribution error), but society's influence and contributing factors. (Examples: teen pregnancy, being homeless, etc.) |
| Define conflict theory. | Inherent class tensions between the bourgeoisie and proletariat over scarce resources. |
| Define structural functionalism. | Looks at social organization and how society is maintained. (Durkheim emphasizes harmony in society and |
| Define social facts. | Ways of acting, thinking, and feeling externally to the individual and endowed with a power of coercion, by reason which they control him. Divided into material and non-material. |
| Define non-material and material. | (They are both social facts). Non-material facts are social norms and codes of conduct and it can only be studied through related social facts. Material facts are laws, organizations, schools, etc. and it can only be studied empirically. |
| Define collective conscience. | Common morality. Sentiments common to general society. Influenced by technology which has led to a weaker collective conscience. |
| Define mechanical and organic solidarity. | Mechanical: Primitive. Strong collective conscious. Homogenous society. Representative law: Offends most people. Organic: Modern. Weaker collective conscious. Interdependent. Restitute law: Offends individual. Society moved from Mechanical to Organic through dynamic density (increase and people and increase in interactions). |
| Define Gidden's juggernaut of modernity. | Modernity refers to the move from pre-modern times toward industrialism and capitalism. It is the out of control force pushing us into the future. It is the paradox of the modern world where we create things and structures so that we can be more free, but they ultimately take over. (Examples: cell phones, cars, etc.) |
| What role does distancation and disembedding play in the juggernaut of modernity? | They increase social connection since we can communicate more often across space and time, however they also increase social isolation since we have less face-to-face interactions. |
| Define distancation and disembedding. | Distancation is the separation of space and time. Disembedding is the "lifting out" of social relations from local contexts and the trust we have in symbolic tokens (credit cards) and expert systems (medical degrees). |
| Explain Marx's dialectical method. | Society is full of contradictions, and for society to improve or change, these contradictions must be observed and changed through struggle. 1. Social values are not separable from social facts. 2. Social factors are reciporical, not cause and effect. 3. This method is concerned with historical roots, present realities, and predicting the future. 4. Change does not occur inevitably, but through struggle. |
| Define species being. | Our species being is our potential and powers that are uniquely human and set us apart from other species. |
| Explain Marx's conception of human nature. | Marx sees human nature as: 1. Inherently social. 2. Working together with nature. 3. Working toward our species being. 4. Naturally productive. |
| What are the types of alienation? | 1. From our productivity (because we do not make things that express our needs) 2. From our product (because even though we make it, we don't own it) 3. From our fellow workers (through competition, isolation, etc.) 4. From our species being (because |
| What are commodities? | Products of labor intended primarily for exchange. |
| What is the difference between use value and exchange value? | Utility is the use value and exchange value is how much one can get for exchanging a commodity and its worth compared to other commodities. |
| Define commodity fetishism. | It is the understanding of the value of objects as independent of the labor required to produce them. |
| List 5 examples why you think Marx's revolution hasn't yet occurred. | 1. We are not conscience consumers. 2. We are distracted by over-consumption. 3. False class consciousness, because they still hope to become bourgeoisie. 4. The government mediates and makes small changes and people are content. 5. Labor unions mediate. 6. Race and gender divisions inhibit the proletariats, they can't unite to fight. |
| What are the four types of suicide? | 1. Altruistic: High integration (suicide bombers, martyrs, etc.). 2. Egoistic: Low integration (depression, disillusionment). 3. Anomic: Low regulation (normlessness, economic depression or boom). 4. Fatalistic: High regulation (slavery, amish). |
| What are the four conditions of religion? | 1. Making a phenomena sacred. 2. Set of religious beliefs. 3. Religious rituals: Rules of conduct in presence of sacred thing. 4. Church: Single overarching moral community. |
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