What is Sociology?
A dictionary defines sociology as the systematic study of society and social interaction. The word “sociology” is derived from the Latin word socius (companion) and the Greek word logos (speech or reason), which together mean “reasoned speech about companionship”. the word "Sociology " was first coined by French essayist Emmanuel-Joseph Sieyes in an unpublished manuscript. In 1838 the term was reinvented by August Comte. This field of study revolves around the critical analysis of the different types of social memberships, connections, and institutions that constitute society across place and time. This is just the beginning of the discipline, in reality, it is more complex. It studies individual behaviour in a broader context, to take into consideration how societal forces might impact individuals, as well as how individuals construct the world around them and how they manage to resist existing power relationships to achieve social change. Sociology questions taken-for-granted assumptions about the world we live in and provides a new and more critical and empirical perspective of the world through scientific theories, concepts, and empirical evidence.
POPULAR DEFINITIONS ON SOCIOLOGY:
According to Lan Robertson: "Sociology is the scientific study of human society and social behavior".
According to William C. Cole: "Sociology is the study of social systems".
According to Ken Browne: "Sociology is the systematic study of human groups and social life in modern societies".
According to Kalhoun, Light, and Keller: "Sociology is the study of human society, including both social action and social organization". According to Literature Review: Sociology is the scientific study of the connection between the individual and social structure. It is the scientific study of society and human interaction. The study of society encompasses at the macro level and the study of human interaction encompasses at the micro level
THE FATHER OF SOCIOLOGY: IBN-E-KHALDUN vs. AUGUST COMTE:
IBN-1-KHALDUN:
According to the Eastern school of thought, Ibn-i-Khaldun, the greatest Muslim Scholar of the fourteenth century in various branches, is credited as the Father of Sociology. Modern Writers consider him as the pioneer in the science of society and the philosopher of history. Some of them consider him the first sociologist in history and even the father of modern sociology. Born in 1332 in Tunis, North Africa, and died in 1406 in Egypt.
He came from an aristocratic family of scholars. He studied both religious and philosophical sciences at an early age. He wrote Kitab Al-Ibar, the book of history, which consists of 7 volumes the Muqaddimah also known as the Prolegomena is the first Volume and it is the introduction of Kitab Al Ibar. The Prolegomena Alone contains more than 1500 pages and it was written in just five months. He also. wrote his own biography Al Tariff Bi Ibaneh Khalto. He studied the rise and decline of nations based on the empirical and rational nature of inquiry. Thus, the root of positivism can be traced to his work. He was. the first to develop a scientific approach to studying human behaviour society and history.
Auguste Comte:
According to the Western school of thought, Comte is credited with being the father of sociology. In 1798. Auguste Comte was a French philosopher and born in Montpelier. In 1830 he worked on the six-volume for which. He is best known. The idea of applying the scientific method to the social world known as positivism was apparently first proposed by August Comte. Comte originally studied to be an engineer, but later became a pupil of social philosopher Claude Henry De Rouvroy Comte de Saint-Simon. They both thought that society could be studied using the same scientific methods utilised in Natural Sciences and believed in the potential of social scientists to work towards improving society. He was of the opinion that once scholars identified the laws that current society, problems such as poor education and poverty can be addressed. Conte named this scientific study of social patterns as Positivism.
0 Comments