This PSEB 11th Class Sociology Notes Chapter 1 Emergence of Sociology will help you in revision during exams.
PSEB 11th Class Sociology Notes Chapter 1 Emergence of Sociology
→ The emergence of Sociology is a new phenomenon and we can tell the definite time about when it originated.
→ Many scholars such as Herodotus, Plato, Aristotle, etc. wrote a lot that is quite similar to present-day Sociology.
→ As a subject, Sociology originated after the French Revolution of 1789 when many changes came in society.
→ Many scholars such as Auguste Comte, Herbert Spencer, Emile Durkheim, and Max Weber stressed the study of social order, conflict, stability, and change. Consequently, the origin of Sociology took place.
→ Three major processes contributed to the establishment of sociology as a separate discipline and these were
- French Revolution and Enlightenment Movement
- Development of Natural Sciences and
- Industrial Revolution and Urbanisation.
→ Many scholars contributed to the advent of the French Revolution. They challenged the authority of the Church and did not follow the Church’s orders blindly. This encouraged the people to solve their problems in a logical manner.
→ During 16th and 17th Centuries, Natural Sciences made great progress. This progress motivated social thinkers to invent something in the social sector.
→ A new belief came forward that as natural sciences understand the biological world, the same method can be used on social phenomena.
→ Sociologists such as Comte, Spencer, Durkheim tried to understand the social phenomena in the same way and they were quite successful in their effort.
→ In the 18th Century, Industrial Revolution came in Europe, and consequently, industries and urban centres emerged a great deal.
→ Many problems originated in cities and a need was felt about the existence of science that could understand them. Response to this need came in the form of Sociology.
→ In 1839, the word ‘Sociology’ was used for the first time by Auguste Comte. That’s why he is known as the father of Sociology. The literal meaning of Sociology is the Science of society.
→ Many scholars call Sociology a science because it uses scientific methods which help in drawing up conclusions. Its rules are universal and they can predict.
→ Many scholars do not consider Sociology, a science because they believe that it lacks experimentation and objectivity. It lacks terminology and it is quite difficult to collect data in it.
→ There exist two schools about the subject matter of Sociology and these are Formalistic School and Synthetic School.
→ According to the Formalistic school of Sociology, it is an independent science that studies the forms of social relations. Simmel, Tonnies, Vierkandt and Von Wiese are the exponents of this school.
→ According to the synthetic school of Sociology, it is not an independent science because it is a synthesis of other social sciences and takes help from them to create its subject matter. Durkheim, Hobhouse, Sorokin, etc. are the major exponents of this school.
→ Sociology holds a very important place in our daily lives as it studies different institutions, helps in social progress, solves different problems, and forms programmes of social welfare.
→ Individualism: The feeling in which an individual thinks only about himself instead of thinking about society.
→ Capitalism: It is a system of economic enterprise which is based on market exchange. The meaning of Capital is any asset including property, money, and machines, which is used to produce commodities for sale or invested in the market to earn profits. This system is based on means of production and private ownership of assets.
→ Values: Ideas of individuals or groups about which is good or bad, proper and desirable.
→ Macro Sociology: Study of major groups, organisations .and social systems.
→ Micro Sociology: Study of human behaviour in the context of face-to-face interaction.
→ Industrialisation: The age of social and economic, a change which converted human society from rural to industrial.
→ Urbanisation: The process in which a large number of people start to live in urban areas. It results in the growth of urban areas.