Punjab State Board PSEB 11th Class Sociology Book Solutions Chapter 1 Emergence of Sociology Textbook Exercise Questions and Answers.
PSEB Solutions for Class 11 Sociology Chapter 1 Emergence of Sociology
Sociology Guide for Class 11 PSEB Emergence of Sociology Textbook Questions and Answers
Answer the following very short answer questions in 1-15 words each:
Question 1.
Who is regarded as the ‘Father of Sociology’?
Answer:
Auguste Comte is regarded as the ‘Father of SocioloH’
Question 2.
Name the two vital factors for the establishment of Sociology as a separate social science.
Answer:
French revolution, progress of natural sciences, industrial revolution and the process of urbanisation are the vital factors for the establishment of Sociology as a separate social science.
Question 3.
From which two words the word ‘Sociology’ came and in which year the subject Sociology emerged ?
Answer:
The word ‘Sociology’ came from the Latin word ‘Soeio’ means society and the Greek word ‘Logos’ which means study. The subject of Sociology
emerged in the year 1839.
Question 4.
Name the two schools regarding the scope of Sociology.
Answer:
There exist two schools regarding the scope of Sociology and these are Formalistic school and Synthetic school.
Question 5.
What is industrialisation ?
Answer:
Industrialisation is that age of social and economic change which converted human society from rural to industrial.
Question 6.
Name two scholars who contributed in the development of Sociology in India.
Answer:
G.S. Ghurye, Radha Kama! Mukherjee, M.N. Srinivas, A.R. Desai etc.
Answer the following short Answer Questions in 30-35 words each
Question 1.
What is the meaning of Sociology ?
Answer:
Science of society is known as Sociology. Groups, institutions, associations, organisations, interactions of individuals are studied scientifically in Sociology. In simple words, ‘Sociology’ is the scientific study of Society.
Question 2.
State two important changes brought about by the Industrial Revolution.
Answer:
(i) Due to the industrial revolution, the production of goods moved to large industries from homes where goods were produced on a large scale.
(ii) Urbanisation also increased and many problems originated in cities such as more population, pollution, traffic, crimes etc. ‘
Question 3.
What is Positivism ?
Answer:
The concept of positivism was given by Auguste Comte. According’ to him, positivism is a scientific method in which there is no place of imagination while understanding and defining any subject matter. In this, every thing about any subject is understood with experiment, classification, comparison and historical method.
Question 4.
What is Scientific method ?
Answer;
Scientific method is a method to attain knowledge with the help of which study is conducted in a scientific way. It is a collective effort which collects different phenomenon with which science is formed.
Question 5.
Define objectivity.
Answer:
When any social scientist studies without any partiality, it is known as objectivity. It is very important for a social scientist to remain objective because in its absence, his study can become biased and will become useless.
Question 6.
Discuss the issue of the hope and subject matter of Sociology.
Answer:
There prevail two schools about the scope of sociology. First school is the Formalistic school which says that sociology studies the forms of social relations and that’s why it is a special science. Second school is Synthetic school which says that sociology is the mixture of other social sciences. So it is a general science.
Question 7.
What are scientific methods employed by sociologists to study its subject matter ?
Answer:
Sociologists use many scientific methods to study their subject matter and these methods are Sampling method, Observation method, Interview method, Schedule method, Questionnaire method, Case study method etc.
Answer the following long Answer Questions in 75-85 words each:
Question 1.
In what way is the Formalistic School of thought different from Synthetic School ?
Answer:
(i) Formalistic School : According to the thinkers of Formalistic school, Sociology is a special science which studies the forms of social relations. No other social science studies such forms of social relationships. That’s why it is not a general science but a special science. Major exponents of this school are Max Weber, George Simmel, Vierkandt, Von Wiese, Richard etc.
(ii) Synthetic School : According to the thinkers of this school, Sociology is not a special science but a genernal science. It borrows and studies the subject matter of other social sciences. That’s why it is a general science. Major exponents of this school are Emile Darkheim, Hobhouse, Sorokin etc.
Question 2.
Discuss briefly the importance of Sociology.
Answer:
- Sociology helps in conducting a scientific study of society.
- Sociology helps in making plans of social welfare as after studing society in a scientific manner, iff gives us a clear picture of society.
- Sociology explains the importance of different social institutions in our lives that how they contribute in the formation of an individual’s personality.
- After studying social problems, sociology tells us the ways to eradicate such problems.
- Sociology also helps in understanding different cultures.
Question 3.
In what way did the French Revolution have a great impact on society?
Answer:
French Revolution started in 1789 A.D. and it brought great changes in French society. Political system changed and it brought changes in social structure. Even before the revolution many philosophers gave their views on change. In this way the seeds of Sociology were sowed and need was felt to study society in a scientific way. Views of different scholars laid its foundation and the work of bringing Sociology in front was completed by Auguste Comte who himself was a French citizen.
Question 4.
In what way did the Industrial Revolution have a great impact on society?
Answer:
Industrial revolution brought forward many good and bad changes in society and social system. Many new issues such as cities, industries, urban problems came forward during those days and these issues laid the foundation of sociology. This was the time when earlier Sociologists like Auguste Comte, Emile Durkheim, Karl Marx, Max Weber etc. come into being and Sociology depends upon the ideas and theories given by them. The impacts of industrial revolution are hidden behind the ideas given by earlier Sociologists. In this way industrial revolution brought many changes in society and consequently played a great role in the emergence of Sociology.
Question 5.
Sociology makes use of scientific methods in its subject matter. Explain.
Answer:
Sociology uses many scientific methods for the study of social facts. It uses many scientific methods Like Comparative method, Historical method, Case Study method, Verstehen method, Observation, Interview, Schedule, Questionnaire etc. and solves the social problems. All these methods are scientific in nature. Knowledge of Sociology is systematic which is obtained by using scientific method.
Answer the following long answer Questions in 250-300 words each :
Question 1.
What do you mean by Sociology ? Highlight the scope of Sociology.
Answer:
In simple words Sociology is the scientific study of society in which mutual relations of humans are studied. Sociology studies mutual actions of human behaviour. It also tries to understand how different groups came into being, how they developed, how they came to an,end and then again came into being. In Sociology different methods, customs, groups, traditions and institutions are being studied.
Auguste Comte, a French philosopher is known as the father of Sociology. His famous book ‘Positive Philosophy’ was published during 1830-1842 in 6 different volumes. In this book he gave the name of Sociology to that science which studies the relations of society. This subject was started in 1839.
If we will see the literal meaning of Sociology then we can say that it has been made by two words ‘Socio’ and ‘Logos’. Meaning of ‘Socio’ is society and the meaning of ‘Logos’ is science. ‘Socio’ word is taken from Latin language and ‘Logos’ word is taken from Greek language. In this way literal meaning of Sociology is science of society. The science which studies the relations of society is known as Sociology.
Definitions:
(1) According to Giddings, “Sociology is the systematic description and explanation of society viewed as a whole.”
(2) According to Maclver and Page, “Sociology is about social relationship, the network of relationship we call society.”
(3) According to Durkheim, “Sociology is the science of social institutions, their genesis and development.”
(4) According to Ginsberg, “Sociology is the study of human interactions and consequences.”
(5) According to Max Weber, “Sociology is the science which attempts the interpretative understanding of social action.”
After studying these given definitions we can say that Sociology studies society scientifically. It also studies human social relations and their functions. Sociology also tells us that all the customs of humans, which connect them with each other, are studied by Sociology. .
Scope of Sociology:
Sociology studies society and society is the web of social relationships. Society is an unbreakable system. In its structure many classes, groups, associations, schools, institution etc. are included. When we say that Sociology studies the society, it means that a sociologist studies all the groups, institutions, associations etc. After analysing their origin and development, Sociology tells that how it will affect social organization and disorganization. The existence of society is based on the fact that how different parts of society change themselves according to others. About this we can come to know by the study of interactions of groups.
While studying society, sociologist also studies non-societai issues like the effect of physical environment on society. In this way it also studies the relation of social and non-social issues. This list is very long that which thing does it study. If we will study the literature of Sociology then we will come to know that different sociologists have different views about scope of its subject matter. To express the subject matter of Sociology two different views are there. According to the exponents of first view, Sociology is a special science but according to exponents of other view, Sociology is a simple or general science. It means that two opposite schools are there which gave the subject matter of Sociology in their own way.
These are given below:
1. Formalistic School-Sociology is a special science.
2. Synthetic School-Sociology is a general science.
1. Formalistic School:
Sociology is a special kind of science. Supports of Formalistic School are George Simmel, Tonnies, Richard, Von Wiese, Vier Kandt, Max Weber. According to these sociologists, Sociology is also a special science like other social sciences. Supporters of this school are limiting the study of Sociology to the forms of social relationships and they call it as a science. According to them, no other social science studies the forms of social relationships, just sociology is a science which studies the form of social relationships. That’s why it is a special science.
According to the supporters of this school, Sociology is a special science because it only studies forms of social relationships and forms and content are different things. To keep its special existence, Sociology studies the forms of social relationship, not the content. In this way Sociology is the scientific study of forms of human relationships. Because the supporters of this school give stress on form, that’s why it is known as formalistic school.
(i) Views of Simmel. According to Simmel, Sociology is a special science because Sociology studies the forms of social relationship but other social sciences study the content of these relationships. According to Simmel, the difference between Sociology and other social sciences is because of their different points of view. Any collective social phenomenon can be studied by any of the social sciences. In this way to become a special science, Sociology studies those parts which other social sciences do not study. According to Simmel, there are two forms of interactions :
(a) Abstract form
(b) Concrete form.
Social relationships like competition, conflict, domination, subordination, division ofTabour etc. are abstract forms of interaction. According to Simmel, Sociology studies scientifically these abstract forms. No other social science studies them. Except this Sociology is related with other social sciences in the same way in which Geometry is related with natural sciences. It means that Geometry studies the local forms of physical objects and natural sciences study the content of those physical objects. In this way when Sociology studies the social relationships then other social sciences study their content like natural sciences. In this way the abstract form of human behaviour is studied by Sociology and that’s why it is known as special science.
In this way according to Simmel, Sociology studies forms and the abstract forms of social relationships which differentiate it from other social sciences. That’s why it is a special science.
(ii) Views of Vierkandt. Vierkandt has also related Sociology with a special branch of knowledge in which he has taken forms of mental relationships and humans of a society. According to him, man cannot produce and establish relations with others without his imagination, wishes, dreams and community instincts. For example we can take the feeling of competition.
Different players have feeling of competition with each other and teachers also have feeling of competition with each other and students also have the same type of feeling. Here we can say that mental relationship in competition is same, yet feelings are not same. According to Vierkandt, Sociology studies social relationship by differentiating it from1 forms of mental relations. So because of*this he called sociology as a special science.
(iii) Views of Von Weise. In all of his writings Von Weise stressed on the fact that Sociology is a special science. He was of the view that forms of social relationships can be studied by differentiating it from its content. According to him, “Sociology is the study of social or inter-human processes.” From this point of view Sociology has limited scope on the basis of which we can differentiate it from other social sciences.
Sociology does not collect the results or conclusions of other social sciences as it is but it collects the whole information of social life and takes it into its subject matter. He gave two types of social relationships and classified their forms. It will be very easy to understand this thinking with his classification. In this way Von Weise gave stress on the fact that Sociology is a special science.
(iv) Views of Max Weber. Max Weber was also of the view that according to formalistic school, the scope of Sociology is very limited. According to Weber, Sociology is the science which attempts the interpretative understanding of social action. According to him we cannot call all the actions of society as social action. Only that action is social with which the behaviour of other persons is affected.
For example if two or more than two persons collide with each other then this is a natural phenomenon but their those efforts with which they differentiate from each other is their social behaviour. According to Weber, Sociology is related with the analysis and classification of types of social relationships. In this way according to Weber the aim of Sociology is to understand and explain social behaviour. That’s why it is a special science.
2. Synthetic School:
According to the thinkers of Synthetic school, Sociology is a general science. According to them the scope of study of Sociology is very wide. That’s why different aspects of social life like political, cultural, psychological, economical are studied by different social sciences like Political Science, Anthropology, Psychology, Economics.
But except these special sciences which study a special aspect, we need a general social science which can tell us about the general conditions of social life on the basis of results given by a special types of science. This school is totally different from Formalistic school because thinkers of this school stress on the concrete form of social relationships. According to this school we cannot understand social relationship without the help of other social sciences. Main supporters of this school are Sorokin, Durkheim and Hobhouse.
1. Views of Sorokin. Sorokin criticised the views of the formalistic school and accepted Sociology as a general science. According to him, Sociology studies the relationship of different parts of social phenomenon. Secondly, it also studies the social and unsocial-relationships and it also studies the general features of social phenomenon. In this way according to him, “Sociology is a general science of socio-cultural phenomenon views in their generic forms, types and many folded inter connection.” In this way Sociology studies common socio-cultural phenomenon from generalizing point of view.
2. Views of Hobhouse. Hobhouse also accepted the views of Sorokin about the functions of Sociology. According to him, Sociology is the mixture of many social sciences but it studies the whole of»social life. Yet Sociology studies differently the different parts of society but it cannot separate any part from society and it cannot attain complete knowledge without the help of other social sciences.
Actually every social science is related with other in one Way or the other. History is related with Psychology, Psychology with Political Science, Political Science with Sociology etc. In this way Sociology is known as general science of all of these because it studies completely the human social life, and because of which it is related with other sciences.
3. Views of Durkheim. According to Durkheim, all social institutions are related with each other and we cannot study them by separating them from each other. Sociology is dependent upon other social sciences for the study of society. According to him, we can divide Sociology in three parts :
- Social Morphology
- Social Physiology
- General Sociology.
The first part is related with humans such as size of population and division. Second part is very complex and further is divided in many parts like sociology of religion, sociology of economics, sociology of law, political sociology. All these sciences study different parts of social life but their point of view is always social. In third part social laws are formulated. In this way according to these views of Durkheim, Sociology is a general science because it is related with the study of every type of institution and social processes.
Question 2.
What do you understand by Sociology ? Discuss the nature of Sociology.
Answer:
Meaning of Sociology:
- According to Giddings, “Sociology is the systematic description and explanation of society viewed as a whole.”
- According to Maciver and Page, “Sociology is about social relationship. the network of relationship we call society.”
- According to Durkheim, “Sociology is the science of social institutions, their genesis and development.”
- According to Ginsberg, “Sociology is the study of human interactions and consequences.”
- According to Max Weber, “Sociology is the science which attempts the interpretative understanding of social action.”
After studying these given definitions we can say that Sociology studies society scientifically. It. àlso studies human social relations and their functions. Sociology also tells us that all the customs of humans, which connect them with each other, are studied by Sociology.
Nature of Sociology :
Sociology is a science but after the following discussion it will become clear that features of science exist in the nature of Sociology.
1. Sociology uses scientific methods. Sociology uses scientific methods for the study of social facts. These methods are historical method, comparative method, case study method, experimental method, ideal type, verstehen etc. These methods of Sociology are made on the basis of scientific method. Sociology uses all the steps of scientific method to find facts like all the natural sciences are using. The base of all those methods is scientific and all these methods are used in Sociology. In present age except these methods, some other methods are also used in Sociology. So in this way if we can use scientific method in the study of Sociology then we can call it as a science.
2. Sociology explains the causal-effect relations. Sociology not only collects the facts but also tries to know their causal-effect relationships. It just not tries to know that ‘why it is’ but it also tries to know about ‘Why’ and ‘How’. It means it tries to know about reasons and results of different facts. For example if any sociologist is studying the problem of unemployment or low status of women then he is just not limiting himself to the collection of data related with that problem but he also tries to know about why this problem came into being and what are its results. It means that why and how this problem came into being. So on the basis of giving explanation of causal-effect relations we can call it a science.
3. Sociology only explains ‘what is’. It does not explain about what should be. Sociology expresses different social facts and phenomena in their original form, the form in which it has seen them. It observes social facts with objectivity and does not accept any fact without reason. It explains subject in its real form and explains ‘what is’ When sociologist studies social phenomena then he does not accept social fact without any reason.
He restricts himself only with the explanation of truth, the way in which Physical Sciences do while studying physical processes. In this way when sociologist studies social processes then he studies and explains without any other effect. In this way Sociology is also known as Positive Science because in this we study any social phenomenon on the basis of facts. So that’s why we can call it as a science.
4. Sociology studies anything with objectivity. In Sociology all facts are observed without any bias. Sociologist tries to study facts and phenomena with objectivity and on the basis of any reason. According to his nature, man can be biased. His interests, habits, feelings can come in study but sociologist studies everything with objectivity and does not bring his likings and dislikings in his study.
The study of any society by Sociology is always based on objectivity because sociologist tries to study on the basis of social facts. For example, if he studies the problem of caste system he keeps his beliefs, thoughts and feelings away from his study. If he will not then it will be difficult to find solution of that problem. Sociologist tries to observe any problem with objectivity and on the basis of this we can call it a Science.
5. Sociology uses Laws and Coincepts. Sociologist also uses scientific methods. The laws and concepts of Sociology are universal but because of changes in Sociology these also changed with the passage of time. But some concepts are there which are same everywhere in every time. If there will be no change in Sociology then these laws can be applicable in all ages. Except this by using scientific methods we can also study any topic many times with which we can come to know about social reality. That’s why we can call it a science.
6. Sociology can predict. We can predict with the help of Sociology. If any problem arises in Society then Sociology not only collects subject matter related with that problem but it gives the result of that problem after its analysis. It also tells us that how it will affect that society and which type of problem will be faced by that society.
7. Laws of Sociology are verifiable. Laws of Sociology are not applicable for a long time. That’s why their truth is verified in different conditions. Sociologists use some of the scientific methods in its study. It is not necessary that the results given by one sociologist will be approved by other. He can verify those results again by using scientific methods.
8. Sociology also signals towards ‘what it will be’ on the basis of ‘what is’ Sociology also signals towards ‘what it will be’ on the basis of ‘what is’. Sociology has the capacity to think about future on the basis of past and present phenomena. It can predict that what would be the effect of any fact in future. For example after analysing the reasons of crime sociologist can tell that what would happen if these reasons could not be removed. In short it has the capacity to predict about any social condition.
Question 3.
What were the factors responsible for the emergence of Sociology ?
Answer:
During the 18th century, many factors emerged which clearly transformed our society. Out of all such factors, three important factors are given ahead :
(i) French Revolution and the Enlightenment Movement’
(ii) The Growth of Natural Science.
(iii) Industrial Revolution and Urbanisation
Their description is given below :
(i) French Revolution and the Enlightenment Movement. In 1789, a revolution took place in France i.e. the French Revolution. This revolution in itself was first of its kind. It had a great impact on the French society because it transformed old society into the new one and feudal system into the capitalistic system. Along with the French Revolution, Enlightenment period also started and many scholars contributed in it. These scholars wrote many books and motivated the people to change the old regimes of monarchy. They challenged the authority of Church which in itself was a major religious institution of that time. They urged the people not to follow the church’s teachings and decisions blindly and start thinking on their own. It encouraged the people and they started solving their problems-in a much logical manner.
In this way, Enlightenment age thinking emerged as an important factor. It was considered an important source of critical thinking. It stressed on the democratic and independent ideas of the modern society. It greatly reduced the differences prevailing in the feudal society. It took away the authority from church and gave it to the democratic elected people. In short, Industrial Revolution of England and democratic revolution of America and France removed the existing organisational authority and paved way to the emergence of new authority.
(ii) Growth of Natural Science. During the 18th century, natural science made a great progress. Natural science attained great success. Many social thinkers got inspired and they also followed the same way. A belief emerged that if by using the methods of natural science, physical and natural phenomenon could be understtood the same process can be used while understanding social phenomenon. Many Sociologists, such as Auguste Comte, Herbert Spencer, Emile Durkheim, Max Weber etc. also advocated the usage of scientific methods while studying society. Consequently it began the usage of scientific methods in social sciences which paved way for the emergence of Sociology.
(iii) Industrial Revolution and Urbanisation. Industrial revolution also affected the emergence of Sociology. Industrial revolution started, after 1760’s, in Europe especially in England. This revolution completely transformed whole of the Europe. Initially production was done at home which after the beginning of industrial revolution, moved into’ the factories and on a large scale. Normal rural life and household industries declined and stratified urban life along with factory based production came into being. It completely changed the beliefs and views of medieval age and old society cpnvered into the modern society.
Along with this, industrialisation gave birth to urbanisation. Size of the urban centres expanded and new cities came into being. Many unending problems emerged in cities such as great rush, pollution, traffic, noise etc. Due to urbanisation, people started migrating toward cities.
Consequently they moved away from their rural atmosphere and started living in slums. Many new classes emerged in urban areas. Rich became more rich and poor became poorer. Cities also witnessed the rise in number of crime. Many scholars such as Auguste Comte, Herbert Spencer, Max Weber, Durkheim, Simmel etc. felt the need of scientific study of society to remove newly emerged social problems. This led to the emergence and development of Sociology.
Question 4.
Why is the study of the origin and the growth of Sociology important ?
Answer:
(i) Sociology is only a new science which is still in its early stages. If we compare Sociology with other social sciences, we realise that all the other social sciences are quite old and Sociology originated only in 1839 A.D. This was the time when not only Europe but whole of the world was going through a process of transformation. Due to this process of transformation, many social problems were coming forward. It was very much necessary to get knowledge about such changes and problems. Only then the social welfare was possible. That’s why the study of the origin and growth of Sociology is important.
(ii) Many problems exist in the present day European society. If we carefully observe these problems, we realise that they originated in Europe only after the industrial revolution. Later on, other countries also started facing these problems. So, if we want to remove these problems, we need to know about the origins of Sociology which came into being during this, period.
(iii) If we want to get knowledge about any subject, first of all it is necessary to know about its origin. So, before studying Sociology, we need to know about its origin.
Question 5.
Write a note on the Enlightenment period of Sociology.
Answer:
Enlightenment period. The enlightenment period refers to the period of European intellectual history that had its beginnings in the early years of the eighteenth century and was largly over the end of the same century. Many of the most important thinkers, movements and projects associated with the Enlightenment were based in France. However Enlightenment thinkers were also active in most of the Major European states of the day, including importantly, Scotland.
The Enlightenment is widely credited with creating a new framework of ideas about human beings and their societies. During the period of the Enlightenment, there was an intense new preoccupation with the social world, which began to be seen as a specific and important realm of human activity.
This focus on the social world generated new questions about human history, political and economic activity and social interaction. These questions were asked within a recognisable paradigm. Paradigm is a set of interconnected ideas, values, principles and facts within which coherent theories are developed. Key aspects of the Enlightenment paradigm included reason, empiricism, science, universalism, progress, individualism, toleration, freedom, secularism etc.
There had been speculation about human beings and their social, political and historical circumstances. For example, in the seventeenth century, the philosopher Hobbes (1588-1679) and Locke (1632-1704) had both written extensively about social and political issues from a secular and a historical perspective.
That is, they had conceived of human affairs strictly in their own terms. They saw them as produced by human beings and as having definite historical conditions and as such they were thought to be susceptible to positive change. In other words, reflections on how and why circumstances were as they were, could lead tp change in order to improve those circumstances.
It was during the eighteenth century that people began to think more clearly about how social, economic and historical processes might be a complex phenomena with their own laws. Social, cultural and political arrangements began to be thought of as the product of complex processes that were not immediately obvious from a casual observation of the social world. In this sense, the study of societies and their development became more closely related to the scientific study of the natural world and began to draw on similar methodologies.
Two thinkers in particular were highly important in the development of these ideas : Vico (1668-1774) and Montesquieu (1689-1755). Their ‘New Science’ (1725) and ‘Spirit of the Laws’ (1748) respectively were attempts to explain how different social conditions were subject to specific cultural and material determination. In other words, complex historical (and even environmental) factors were taken into account when describing specific societies and their operation.
Rousseau was another thinker who was also quite important in the development of these ideas. He wrote a book, ‘The Social Contract’ in which he wrote that people of any country must have the right to choose their ruler. He also wrote that if people want to develop themselves then it can be done only under a government of their choosing.
Enlightenment writers rejected the idea that society and estates are the basic units of social analysis. Instead they gave the idea that individual is the basis of social analysis. According to them, individuals have the abilities, qualities and rights inherent among them and society was developed due to social contact between these individuals.
Enlightenment thinkers viewed human reason as dominant in contrast to the system thought where the questioning was discouraged and the sacred had dominated, They supported the idea that every subject of study should be allowed, no unaskable questions should be there and all aspects of human life are subject to examination and study.
Here they combined the philosophical tradition of abstract rational thought with the tradition of experimentation. The result of this combination comes in a new way. New system of human inquiry attacked the old system, it stressed on faith in science, scientific method and education, raised question over existence of existing institutions and demanded that reasonable institutions must be changed which are contrary to human nature.
All social obstacles must be eliminated which are obstacles in the way of human perfectability. The new approach was not only empirical and scientific but was philosophical as well. Enlightenment thinkers thought that the world was an object of study and people must understand and control it with reason and empirical research. Now social laws must be discovered and society must be improved with the rational and empirical inquiry. This type of thought can be called as reformist which must challenge the old order. These thinkers were very much optimistic about improving the social world with the help of new world order.
Hence a new social thought emerged due to views of Enlightenment thinkers and early sociology also emerged out of this. Auguste Comte a French philosopher, was the first one to coin the word sociology. Firstly he called it social physics which is the science to study society.
Sometime later sociologists also adopted the same idea that sociology is the science of society. The new ideas propounded by the Enlightenment thinkers paved way for the emergence and development of sociology in many ways. Many people believe that sociology emerged due to the Enlightenment ideas and the reaction of conservatives who wanted to restore the old social order.
Comte was also a part of the conservative reaction who also thought of a return to the old social order. Few early sociologists took few ideas of the Enlightenment and gave the idea that with the help of a few social reforms, old social order could be preserved. As a result, a conservative sociological school was created. Comte was the one who represented the old social order. Then it was Karl Marx who completely worked out the implications of the Enlightenment views. Karl Marx grew up in Germany where Enlightenment was of little importance as it had in Britain, France, or North America. If we observe Marxian views then we can see that these views can be seen as resulting partly from Enlightenment ideas.