Revision Guide
Sociological Theory 3 (ST3)
English
Based on the key concepts
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Week 1
Meaning of sociological theory
Turner
Today, sociology is experiencing what can only be described as hyperdifferentiation of
theories: there are to many branches within sociology. Sociology is not a mature science.
Some think this is a good thing.
Diverse theory traditions in sociology
Functionalist approach
Looking through society as a whole, as an organism which has different parts, and all these
parts have different functions, but they are all together needed to make the system work.
Functional theory always asks the question of how a particular phenomenon operates to
meet the survival needs or requisites of a larger social system, as the latter seeks to adapt to
its environment.
Conflict approach
People are competing with each other for resources. This leads to differences in power,
which leads to conflicts. It shifts the focus of theoretical sociology to the conditions under
which varying types of conflict emerge in social systems.
Ecological / Evolutionary approach
The idea is that just like within animals, they adapt to their environment to survive. When
organisms or societies get more complex, there is more competition. The social meanings
change and adapt to survive. There can be no doubt that humans created social structures
to survive and reproduce themselves, but once created these structures and their cultures
have emergent properties that drive behavior and patterns of social organization above and
beyond the pressures exerted by genes to remain in the gene pool. Humans are, most
sociologists would argue, the product of purely sociocultural forces, and hence, human
behavior and social structures can only be understood in these terms.
Exchange / Utilitarian approach
Roots are within economics. If you want to understand society, you look at them like
exchanges, and is always related to some kind of cost and benefits analysis. The goal is to
maximize rewards.
Symbolic interactionist approach
The idea is that people interact with each other on the basis of symbolic meanings based on
the interpretations of the social world. When a stranger asks you a question, you will
respond differently to someone who is freshly showered and dressed nicer than a stranger
that looks kind of gross.
Dramaturgical approach
People interact with each other, they seem like they are following a script on how to act.
There is variation in how we act, but you adapt to the role you are in.
Approaches with ‘structure’
The individual has no free choice on how to act. People are always imbedded in social
networks and often times you don’t have control over the people you interact with. Structures
are seen as parameters that influence opportunities for interaction, with these opportunities
determining general rates of contact among individuals. Much network theory argues that the
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place in a network will influence opportunities for ties, and hence, rates of contact among
actors.
Critical approach
We have to act upon the social injustices we observe. There is also a moral question
involved, because what is ‘wrong’ is different within social contexts. Social sciences are not
equipped to make a decisions about what is ‘good’ and what is ‘wrong’. The discipline
emerged in response to the transformations associated with modernity; and theorists often
posited pathological conditions, such as alienation, exploitation, anomie, marginality, iron
cages, and other ills associated with the rise of capitalism. Most critical theory had been anti-
science, often portraying science as part of the problem.
Abend
Questions
Ontological question: what is theory?
Evaluative question: what is a good theory?
Teleological question: what is theory for?
Semantic question: what does ‘theory’ mean?
The word theory is given many different meaning. Polysemy = the coexistence of many
possible meanings for a word or phrase. Through context, people can often conclude the
meaning of a word like Spanish people typically can discern whether any given token of
'banco’ means ‘bank’ or ‘bench’.
With ‘theory’, people forget that not everyone means the same thing. This leads to a
Socratic error: the belief that theory is an object out there that our concepts or language
can track down.
Semantic predicament: the difficulty of accurately conveying the meaning of social
phenomena
- Principle of practical reason: calls for practical methods and solutions. A solution to
SP must be the outcome of a collective process of discussion and negotiation, which
would look like a community coming up with a political decision
- Principle of ontological and epistemological pluralism: The set of conditions
under which the word 'theory' can be correctly used should not have too much built-in
ontological and epistemological baggage.
The first thing sociology needs is some sort of semantic therapy: the awareness of the
semantic predicament and a way of addressing said problem.
Abend’s 7 meanings of theory conclude to:
1. Theory as a general proposition: a system of general propositions, which
establishes a relationship between two or more variables. Some conclusion about
social movements in general must have been drawn, as to no be ‘atheoretical’
2. Theory as an explanation of social phenomena: In this sense, theory is seen as a
tool or method for understanding complex social phenomena, allowing researchers to
make sense of complex relationships and patterns.
3. Theory to understand empirical phenomena: This meaning refers to the process
of abstracting and generalizing from empirical data to create a set of concepts,
propositions, and laws that can explain phenomena in a systematic and coherent
way.
