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Samenvatting hoorcolleges contemporary sociological theories blok 4
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Samenvatting van de colleges van contemporary sociological theories blok 4
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CST blok 4College 1
Paradigmata (Thomas Kuhn):
- a way of looking to society, which steers scientific thinking and research
- 4 main paradigmata in sociology:
1) (structural) functionalist paradigm: social phenomena must be explained by their function for
society (macro)
2) conflict paradigm: social phenomena must be explained as the results of conflicts between groups
in society (macro)
3) symbolic interactionistic paradigm: social phenomena must be explained as the results of
interaction between individuals through symbols and meaning (micro)
4) rational choice paradigm: social phenomena must be explained as the (unintended) consequences
of rational decisions by individuals (micro)
Problems with paradigmata:
- sociology is part of society, and so is the sociologist -> this determines your view on society
- there is no complete or overarching picture of theory on how society works
- it is always restricted and selective -> ‘partial perspectives’
Paradigms versus theories:
- theoretical tradition = family of theories with common assumptions
- theoretical tradition ≠ theory -> does not focus on a specific explanatory problem
- division into traditions is more or less arbitrary: many specific theories combine elements from
several traditions
Three ways of thinking about theory:
1) that which underpins research design -> theory as paradigm
2) that which may inform our understanding of the phenomenon -> theory as a ‘lens’
3) that which may emerge from our study -> theory as new knowledge
4 key ‘paradigm’ questions:
1) what do we believe exists? (ontology)
- fundamental beliefs that someone holds about the nature of the social world and its relationship to
individual social actors
- social reality exists independent of the observer
- social reality is constructed by people in particular social, cultural and historical contexts
2) what constitutes reliable & valid knowledge? (epistemology)
- causal relationships between observable phenomena
- interpretations of meaning
3) how we produce reliable and valid knowledge? (methodology)
- what ‘Strategies of inquiry’ are appropriate to our ontological/epistemological position
- (descriptive/confirmatory <-> explanatory/exploratory)
4) how can we collect data to test our theories or describe social phenomena? (methods)
- what data collection approaches/tools are appropriate to the methodology
Contemporary sociology is looking for connections between agency and structure:
- agency (actor) -> producing
- structure -> reproducing
Ordering the theoretical traditions:
1) subject matter: the central topic (micro/macro -> zie ‘4 main paradigmata in sociology’)
2) assumptions: view of
human nature --------------->
,3) methodology: types of argumentation and research
• deductive
- top-down
- from general proposition to empirical implication
- logical reasoning
-> functionalism
-> conflict theory
-> rational choice theory
• inductive
- bottom-up
- from observation to general proposition
- observation
-> symbolic interactionism
4) objectives: types of questions the theory should answer
• explanatory
- in terms of more general principles
-> functionalism
-> conflict theory
- rational choice theory
• descriptive
- observation-based
-> symbolic interactionism
College 2
The Enlightenment (17th/18th century): reason could be used to solve all human problems
- all forms of life are being studied as ‘systems’, interrelated parts (change in one part has
consequences for the whole)
- rise of rationalism in social thought
- in favour of: freedom of speech, freedom of trade, freedom to realize one’s potential
- against: traditional religious systems of belief, traditional authorities, speculative thinking
Pioneers or forerunners:
• Thomas Hobbes (1588-1679):
- how do we maintain some kind of order in society? -> monarchy and government with absolute
power (king is ruler)
- had a negative idea of individuals
• John Locke (1632-1704):
- believed all people are born equal
- government should protect people’s natural rights, chosen monarchs
• Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712-1778):
- believed people are basically good, society corrupted people
- government should work for common good, not wealthy few
- individuals should give up some freedoms for benefit of community
• Baron de Montesquieu (1689-1755):
- best form of government -> divided power among branches of government
• Adam Smith (1723-1790):
- economy would be stronger if market forces of supply and demand were allowed to work freely
Key ideas of the Enlightenment:
- giving people more knowledge -> they will come up with new solutions so they won’t have to wait
for someone or something else to do it
- free debate leads to a better and wealthier life -> salons in Paris (debating societal issues)
, Romanticism (conservative) -> reaction to French Revolution
- anti-individualism
- importance of groups and sub units
- interdependence of social institutions (society as a social organism)
- importance of basic needs (vs universal rights)
- importance of moral order and moral community
-> conservatives then: in favor of existing government
-> conservatives now: government is the problem of society
German idealism: is reality real or is it constructed by human beings?
• Immanuel Kant (1724-1804):
- noumenal side: the thing we cannot understand or experience is meaningless
- phenomenal side: we can only know the world with our mind
- we can only know the world throug our mind, the noumenal side is meaningless without our
interpretation
• George Friedrich Hegel (1770-1831):
- the actions of human beings leave the structive of society, and the structure can be changed
- idealism: our mind makes the world (as it appears to us) exist
- dialectics: “processes of movement and change”
- “each has effects on the other, each could not exist without the other, each makes the other”
- Marx: side of society -> clash -> new side of society -> clash -> etc. -> democratic, communistic
utopian society
- alienation: people create a culture, then forget that they have created it
• Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900):
- ‘will to power’: the natural drive by stronger individuals and groups to dominate weaker ones
- christianity is dead -> there is no objective truth anymore
Discovery of society:
1) start of modern science
- revaluating empirical observations
2) discovery of society
- from the book of nature to the book of culture
3) sociology as study of society
- sociologist try to grasp the large societal changes of the 18th and 19 th century
Societal changes:
1) economic changes: growth of capitalism and the industrial revolution (from 1750)
2) political changes:
- UK: Glorious Revolution (1688) -> overthrow King James II
- American Revolution (1776)
- French Revolution (1789): (a) freedom; (b) equality, and (c) solidarity
3) developments in religion (churches)
4) growth of cities and the genesis of social problems
French revolution (1789) and the reactions
1) conservative:
- the revolution is anarchy -> restore the old authority relations!
2) prophets of Enlightenment:
- revolution is the beginning of the emancipation process -> man is freed of traditional social
relationships
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