Sociology Essay

The sociological perspective gives you insight into worlds other than your own as well as fresh looks at your world. It allows you to gain new perspectives on social life and perceive it differently. People don't do the things they do based off of internal instincts but in fact base their actions and lively hood on their societal surroundings. A child born in India for example wont have the same ideals as a child born in America.

People have always been interested in understanding why people do certain things, or live in different ways than others however they never tested the theories the crafted. Sociology was birthed from when the scientific method was invented and people began to utilize it to question theories pertaining to social life.

Positivism, or applying the scientific method, was first proposed by Auguste Comte. He is the one to coin the term sociology and stressed that those who study social life must use the scientific method however he did not apply it to his questions himself. He is often credited the founder of sociology.

The second founder of sociology, Herbert Spencer, believed society evolved from a barbaric state to that of civilization as eras pass. As time goes on the fittest members will go on to create a more advanced society whereas the not so fit members would die off. He coined the term “survival of the fittest” although it is commonly associated with Charles Darwin's study of evolution. Because their ideas are so similar Spencer's theory became known as social Darwinism.

Karl Marx thought that social reform can only come from a social upheaval from the working class.

Emile Durkheim became the worlds first sociology professor and theorized social integration. Social integration is the degree people are tied to their social group. In his observations he discovered those with more social ties have a lower suicide rate. He states you must not look at the individual but at the individuals societal surroundings.

A handful of women...