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Samenvatting sociologie - Sociological theory
Summary study book Sociological Theory of George Ritzer - ISBN: 9781283389075 (Sociological theory)
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Voorbeeld 3 van de 19 pagina's
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PROBLEM 12 main themes:
❖ The priority of the social over the individual
❖ That society can be studied scientifically
Durkheim stressed the social dimension of all human phenomena. Society is made up of social facts,
which exceed our intuitive understanding and must be investigated through observation and
measurements. These ideas are so central that Durkheim is seen as the father of sociology.
To separate it from psychology, Durkheim argued that sociology should be concerned with the study
of social facts, phenomena irreductible to individual psychology.
Famous duel: should sociology focus on the individual or the collective
Social realism: autonomous reality of society
To separate it from philosophy, Durkheim argued that it should be oriented toward empirical research.
To separate from both disciplines, sociology needs to focus on social facts.
Social facts: the social structures and cultural norms and values that are external to, and coercive of,
actors. Social facts are treated as things and studied empirically. This means we must study social
facts by acquiring data from outside of our own minds through observation and experimentation. ‘A
social fact is every way of acting, fixed or not, capable of exercising on the individual an external
constraint; or again, every way of acting which is general throughout a given society, while at the
same time existing in its own right independent of its individual manifestation.’
1. A social fact is experienced as an external constraint rather than an internal drive
2. It is general throughout the society and is not attached to any particular individual
He argued that social facts cannot be reduced to individuals but must be studied as their own reality.
They have their own unique character that is not reducible to an individual's consciousness. Social
facts can only be explained by other social facts (legal rules, moral obligations, social conventions,
language).
2 types of social facts:
❖ Material: directly observable
❖ Nonmaterial: Durkheims’s heart of study. They are to a certain extent found in the minds of
individuals. However, when people begin to interact in complex ways, their interactions will
obey laws all their own. The particular form and content will be determined by the complex
of interactions, not the individual.
Relational realism: the interactions have their own levels of reality
You start to study the material social facts, which are empirically accessible, in order to understand
nonmaterial social facts which are the real focus of his work.
Morphological: population density, channels of communication, housing arrangements
Structural components: bureaucracy (mix of morphological and nonmaterial)
Forms of nonmaterial social facts:
❖ Morality: people were in danger of a pathological loosening of moral bonds. Without these
bonds, the individual would be enslaved by ever-expanding and insatiable passions. People
would be impelled by their passions into a mad search for gratifications. People do always
want more. If society does not limit us, we will become slaves to the pursuit of more. The
individual needs morality and external control in order to be free.
❖ Collective conscience: the total beliefs and sentiments common to average citizens of the
same society forms a determinate system which has its own life; one may call it the collective
or common conscience.. it is, thus, an entirely different thing from particular consciences,
although it can be realized only through them. It refers to the general structure of shared
, understandings, norms, and beliefs. It is therefore an all-embracing and amorphous concept.
Primitive societies had a stronger collective conscience than modern societies did.
❖ Collective representations: to refer to both a collective concept and a social force (religious
symbols, myths, popular legends, group memories). All of these are ways in which society
reflects on itself. They represent collective beliefs, norms and values, and they motivate us to
conform to these collective claims. It can’t be reduced to individuals because they emerge out
of social interactions, but they can be studied more directly than collective conscience
because they are more likely to be connected to material symbols (flags, icons, pictures,
rituals). It can be studied how certain collective representations fit well together, or have
affinity, whereas others do not.
❖ Social currents: social facts that do not present themselves in this already crystallized form.
The great waves of enthusiasm, indignation and pity that are produced in public gatherings.
Social currents are less concrete than other social facts, they are nevertheless social facts
because they can’t be reduced. They can be viewed as sets of meanings that are shared by the
members of a collectivity. Individuals contribute to social currents, but by becoming social
something new develops through their interactions. It can be explained by the interaction
between individuals. These collective moods or social currents, vary from one collectivity to
another, with the result that there is variation in the rate of certain behaviors.
The division of labor: traced the development of the modern relation between individuals and society.
Durkheim argued that the division does not represent the disappearance of social morality. The thesis
is that modern society is not held together by the similarities between people who do basically similar
things. Instead, it is the division of labor itself that pulls people together by forcing them to be
dependent on each other. ‘The economic services that it can render are insignificant compared with
the moral effect that is produces and its true function is to create between two or more people a
feeling of solidarity.’
Durkheim was interested in the changed way in which society is held together and how its members
see themselves as part of a whole. 2 types of solidarity:
❖ Mechanical: society is unified because all people are generalists. The bond among people is
that they are all engaged in similar activities and have similar responsibilities. This is
primitive society, they have a stronger collective conscience (greater number of shared
understanding, norms and beliefs).
❖ Organic: society is held together by the differences among people, by the fact that all have
different tasks and responsibilities. This is modern society. Less collective conscience. Less
competition and more differentiation allow people to cooperate more and be supported by the
same resource base. Differences allow for closer bonds between people than similarity. Thus,
there is both more solidarity and more individuality.
Giddens pointed out that the collective conscience can be differentiated on 4 dimensions:
❖ Volume: number of people enveloped by the collective conscience
❖ Intensity: how deeply the individuals feel about it
❖ Rigidity: how clearly it is defined
❖ Content: form that the collective conscience takes
, The division of labor was a material social fact because it is a pattern of interactions in the social
world. He believed that the transition from mechanical to organic was dynamic density. This refers to
the number of people in a society and the amount of interaction that occurs among them. More people
means an increase in the competition for scarce resources, and more interaction means a more intense
struggle for survival among the basically similar components of society. The problems with dynamic
density are resolved through differentiation and the emergence of new forms of social organization.
The rise of the division allows people to complement and it makes it more efficient with the result that
resources increase, making the competition over them more peaceful.
To study nonmaterial social facts, the sociologist should examine material social facts that reflect the
nature and changes in nonmaterial social facts.
Repressive law: in a society with mechanical solidarity. Because people are similar in this type of
society and because they tend to believe very strongly in a common morality, any offense against their
shared value system is likely to be of significance to most individuals. Everyone feels offended and
believes deeply in the common morality. The wrongdoer is punished severely.
Restitutive law: in a society with organic solidarity. Offenses are likely to make restitution for their
crimes. They are more likely to be seen as committed against a particular individual/segment of
society. Because there is a weak common morality, most people do not react emotionally to a breach
of the law.
A healthy society can be recognized because the sociologist will find similar conditions in other
societies in similar stages. If a society departs from what is normally found, it is pathological. Crime
is normal rather than pathological. He argued that because crime is found in every society, it must by
normal and provide a useful function. Crime helps societies define and delineate their collective
conscience.
3 abnormal forms:
❖ Anomic division of labor: refers to the lack of regulation in a society that celebrates isolated
individuality and refrains from telling people what they should do. Modern society is always
prone to anomie.
❖ Forced division of labor: refers to the fact that outdated norms and expectations can force
individuals/groups/classes into positions which they are ill suited. Tradition, economic power
or status can determine who performs what jobs.
❖ Poorly coordinated division of labor: if people’s specializations do not result in increased
interdependence but in isolation. The division will not result in social solidarity.
Moral crises were caused by these abnormal forms. Without the strong common morality of
mechanical solidarity, people might not have a clear concept of what is and what is not proper and
acceptable behavior. Individuals can become isolated and be cut adrift in their highly specialized
activities. They can more easily cease to feel a common bond with those who work and live around
them. This gives rise to anomie.
Durkheim was interested in explaining differences in suicide rates. Only social facts (social currents)
could explain why one group had a higher rate of suicide than did another. 2 ways of evaluating
suicide rates:
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