Is sociology a science?

Question: "Within the social sciences there is a debate about whether Sociology is a science or not". Evaluate the major positions in this debate. Science may be defined as a set of key components which can be related to a methodological process. It may also be defined broadly as the accumulation of verifiable knowledge or narrowly as the testing of hypotheses by positivistic methodology. Science is made up of four components which are empirical, theoretical, cumulative and objective. The empirical aspect deals with measurable phenomena, the theoretical aspect seeks to uncover casual relationships between phenomena, the cumulative aspect builds up knowledge, moving towards greater understanding of the world and the objective aspect concerns itself with the objective discovery of the truth. Personal attitudes and bias have no place in science. Sociology may be defined as the study of society and the way in which society influences people's behaviour, beliefs and identity. It is the study of human social life by any means that are effective. In sociology, statistics are collected and analysed and human behaviour is observed. Many of the initiators of sociology are convinced that it is conceivable to create a science of society based on the same principles and methods as the natural scientists. This attempt to apply natural science approaches to sociology is called

  • Word count: 881
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: Sociology
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Is sociology a science?

Critically evaluate the view that sociology is not a scientific discipline. Sociology can be identified as a scientific subject according to positivists as sociology can test theories, establish laws and uncover causal relationships. For Comte and Durkheim, sociology is a positivistic science as it is the analysis of social facts. Positivists believe there is an external reality to the individual and that social facts constraint independent of the individual. Human behaviours are a response to observable social conditions explained in terms of cause-effect relationships. Positivists just like scientists use rigorous methods which are objective and value free. For these reasons positivist sociologists favour quantitative methods and data. Based on these similarities with science, positivists would strongly believe that sociology is a science. On the other hand, interpretivists would contradict that view and say that sociology is not a science. This is because they argue that society is a socially created set of meanings shared by a social group. They negate the claim made by positivists that people simply respond to external forces, they believe people give meaning to a situation before responding to it therefore in order to understand society it is necessary to discover and interpret the meanings given to situations. This can be done through versthen - let people speak for

  • Word count: 636
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: Sociology
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Is Sociology a Science?

Is Sociology a Science? Does sociology embody the critical characteristics to justify its classification as a science and is such a classification acceptable? Since the beginning of the study of sociology in the 19th century, this has been a fundamental conflict within the field of sociology. Opinion is generally divided into two camps; those who believe that Sociology should be considered as equal in stature to the Natural Sciences and those who disagree. Sociology, according to Ackroyd and Hughes is the "... social science that is concerned with the explanation of human behavior." A Science, according to the Oxford dictionary is a branch of knowledge conducted on objective principles involving the systemized observation of and experiment with phenomenon. (This definition is usually accorded exclusively to the natural sciences, for example Physics) The main proponents of this argument are the positivists. Many of the founding fathers of Sociology subscribed to this school of thought. They believed that social facts could be observed objectively, measured and quantified in the way matter is quantified in terms of temperature, volume and pressure. In Chemistry, proven theories make it possible to predict the behavior of elements. Auguste Comte transferred this to sociology, suggesting that the concept of "cause and effect" in human behavior makes it possible to formulate

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  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: Sociology
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Is sociology a science?

Is sociology a science? To answer the question of whether or not sociology is a science is entirely dependent upon the individual's definition of science. If the conventional definition of science is being referred to, that is, that science is knowledge ascertained by observation and experiment, critically tested, systematised and brought under general principles, then arguably to a certain extent sociology is scientific. However if science is socially instead of objectively defined, then although some sociology may have similar characteristics to natural science there is a significant difference in the method model used in each case. Medawar claimed science should be defined in terms of its method, stating that if a particular logic and procedure was followed then the subject could be considered a science regardless the subject matter. This would thus allow certain branches of sociology to be defined as a science, mainly those that are of a positivist approach and utilise quantitative research. Popper redefined and developed this view of science. He viewed science as being logical, useful and refutable. He believed scientific knowledge is built up using a continuing process of conjecture and disproval and there is no final truth but the most likely provisional explanation. It was due to his belief of this that he criticised Marxism for being unscientific, as it was

  • Word count: 1132
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: Psychology
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Is sociology a science?

Is sociology a science? The relation ship between sociology and science has been the focus of a great deal of debate. One of the simplest definitions of sociology is 'the study of people in social groups'. Sociology is not a unified subject. As well as several broad perspectives each with different theoretical strands, there is an important methodological division between those who favour quantitative research and those who collect data in an attempt to study the meanings behind the social behaviour of people. Depending on the way science is defined, some sociology may meet the scientific criteria whilst others do not. The difficulty with talking about basing research on scientific principle is that we have differing versions of those principles. The functionalist perspective would agree that sociology is a science, and like the natural scientists see an organism e.g. the human body as a system that works together sociologists attempt to see society as an organism. If biologists wanted to see how an organism works they might begin examining the various parts i.e. brain, lungs e.t.c. However they wouldn't simply analyse the parts in isolation from each other, as they would be unable to explain how life is maintained. To do this they would have to examine the parts in relation to each other, since they work together to maintain the life of the organism. In functionalism the

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  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: Sociology
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Can and should sociology be a science?

Can and should sociology be a science? Science is defined as knowledge that is certain, gained by systematic study through observation and experimentation. Examples of sciences are chemistry and physics. While sociology is the systematic study of human society dedicated to the understanding of social interaction as people form groups, communities and societies. However, there is no definition of sociology entirely satisfactory because of the diversity of perspectives that would classify sociology suitable to be a type science or not. Question is, can and should sociology be a science? Positivists argue that sociology can be a science therefore they tend to adopt quantitative research methods such as experiments and close-ended questionnaires. This is because the subject matter of society is similar to natural science. Positivists in sociology believe that like how rocks and gases react to external forces, social facts act as an external force to determine human behavior. Human behavior is patterned and predictable, most social behaviors are learnt and repeated in familiar contexts, and this measure of 'order' means that sociology can be scientific. For instance, beliefs and moral codes of society, which is beyond the individual's control shapes an individual's behavior. Human behavior is seen to be governed by external forces therefore human behavior can be objectively

  • Word count: 2272
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: Sociology
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Can and should sociology be science?

Can and should sociology be science? By definition, sociology refers to systematic study of human behavior and society whilst science literally means knowledge collected in a systematic manner. It is a popular debate in sociology concerning whether sociological research should adopt similar methods to those of natural science. There are 3 main approaches relevant to this debate, those being the positivism, phenomenology and realism. First of all, positivists would argue that sociology can and should be a science. This is because positivists believe that some features of natural science can be found in the area of sociology. Positivists argue that sociology has methods and theories like science. Sociological study is empirical in the explanation of social world. As well as scientist, sociologist collects data as evidence in order to verify a theory. For example, the studies of Mods and skinheads conducted by Stanley Cohen in order to verify Marxist sub-cultural theories. Hence, positivist would support the view that sociology can and should be a science. However, phenomenologist would reject the view. For phenomenologist, studying the social world is fundamentally different from studying the natural world. Alfred Schutz argues that social world cannot be objectively observed and measured. Unlike inanimate objects, both sociologist and subject matters are human with

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  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: Sociology
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To what extent can sociology be described as a science?

To what extent can sociology be described as a science? There are numerous sociological perspectives as well as individuals who see sociology as a science. Sociology is actually referred to as a social science whether it is or not can be disputed. The very first sociologists in the 19th century believed that by using the rules and logic of the 'scientific method' it could be applied to sociology the same way as it is applied in the natural sciences. Before you can even begin to consider if sociology can be described as a science it has to be made clear what is meant by science. The general explanation of science is, a way of understanding and explaining the world. When studying something in science, a 'scientific method' is used. The processes involved with a scientific method are: something is observed, an explanation for the event is given (hypothesis), an experiment/research is conducted adjusting the variables accordingly, the results are examined and then the hypothesis is either accepted, rejected or changed. The results aim to produce valid knowledge, which would be objective and value free. Scientific method is often mentioned when talking about studying something in science and as well sociology. Often mentioned are the key components of science they are that science is empirical, testable, theoretical, cumulative and objective. The positivist approach has always

  • Word count: 965
  • Level: University Degree
  • Subject: Historical and Philosophical studies
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Sociology cannot and should not be viewed as a science

‘Sociology cannot and should not be a science’ Science is a central feature of today’s society with science and technology practically revolutionising every part of life. However sociologists have argued that it is not possible or desirable for sociology to model its self as a science, whereas others sought to copy its success by producing a science of society. Positivists such as Comte believe that it is possible to apply the logic and methods of science to the study of society and that this study of society could lead to controlling it and improvement. A key feature of positivism is the belief that reality exists outside and independently from the human mind. Positivists see reality and society as patterned and believe that we can observe these empirical regularities. Durkheim believed that real laws are discoverable, for example, if physicists can discover how gravity works, sociologists can discover how society works. The method for accumulating this is known as inductive reasoning and involves accumulating data about the world through careful observation and measurement. For positivists, the patterns observed could all be explained in the same way – by finding the facts that caused them. This is known as verification. For example, in sociology the social fact of educational failure might be explained by material deprivation. Positivists believe that

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  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: Sociology
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Sociology is not, cannot be, and should not be a science.

"Sociology is not, cannot be, and should not be a science." "Sociology is not, cannot be, and should not be a science." Such a damning statement throughout much of the scientific domain exists nowadays as well as equally opposing views of sociology being a science. How can such a debate be put to rest? Within this debate defining terminology is seminal in understanding; science can be described as any system of knowledge which attempts to model objective reality. In a more restricted sense, science refers to a system of acquiring knowledge based on the scientific method, as well as to the organized body of knowledge gained through such research. Also within this debate are two theoretical positions; positivism and interpretivism. Positivist theory is based on the belief that explanations and knowledge should be based on empirical scientific method. Interpretivist theory supports the view that all knowledge is a matter of interpretation; how events and phenomena are understood in terms of how the people involved perceive. Sociology is a science. Positivists view ideas, thought and mind as scientists see atoms. They suggest that a sociologist should be "in the same state of mind as the physicist, chemist or physiologist when he probes into a still unexplored region of the scientific domain" (Durkheim). Some sociologists suggest that sociological research should share many

  • Word count: 672
  • Level: GCSE
  • Subject: Sociology
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