Sociological Theories Of Herbert Spencer And Jane Addams

Sociological theories are sets of ideas that have been combined and tested to clarify and expand our understanding of people, society, and their behaviors. Often these theories are limited by our awareness (or lack thereof) of the relationship between our personal perspective and the experience of society as a whole. With the advanced use of data collected through sociological theory, our future as a society is as limitless as our imagination, rather than our sociological imagination. This concept is quite evident in the work of theorists such as Herbert Spencer and Jane Addams, both of whom have made lasting contributions to the field of sociology.

Herbert Spencer (1820-1903) is known as a Structural Functionalist, believing that society is made up of stable, connected parts, with each part contributing to keep society working properly and with the members of those parts deciding what is or isn't morally acceptable. This macro-level theory became quite popular after Spencer championed it during his lifetime. It naturally follows that his major

contribution to sociology came through his adaptation of Charles Darwin's Origin of the Species to the scope of social study. Furthermore, he used evolution to explain societal changes over time, suggesting this was in accordance with Darwin's Survival of the Fittest rule naturally leading some to wealth and others to poverty. After drawing conclusions based on this theory, Spencer advocated against active efforts to change society, pointing out that it will eventually change as needed and any outside efforts would disrupt the natural process of its evolution. Spencer's use of sociological imagination to see connections between his own place in society and the larger conceptual science of Charles Darwin still resonates with many people.

In contrast to Spencer's view of society is the Symbolic Interactionism theory embraced by Jane Addams (1880-1935), which contends that society is an ever changing, ongoing process and that the individuals within that society experience it in various ways because it is changing. The micro-level theory addresses an individual's behavior, illustrating how that behavior is influenced by and influences society as a whole. Few sociologists can boast a resume as impressive as Jane Addams; her social work earned her the first Nobel Peace Prize given to an American sociologist, and she is celebrated for pioneering the study of social problems and for influencing the Chicago School of applied sociology. She was the founder of Hull House, a settlement house whose residents influenced public policies on many social justice issues. Perhaps most striking about Addams' work is the use of social imagination; not only was she able to look at the individual's role in society as a whole, but she was also able to look beyond wealth, race, and many additional typical class designations to address social problems.

Sociological imagination and theory are fascinating topics.

Its obvious how both Herbert Spencer and Jane Addams derived their social theories, it seems much more likely for society to prosper when aligned with the approach Addams pioneered. At the core of this concept, perhaps, is a personal repulsion to the concept of survival of the fittest when applied to our society. I don't believe that “be able-bodied and productive or die off” is a relevant method of societal evolution. With this as a basic theory, we would lose some of our most brilliant thinkers, such as Stephen Hawking. Without further reading it is impossible to determine if Spencer allowed his own life experiences to limit his interpretations of society and color his social theories; it is clear, though, that he worked diligently to approach the field from a scientific perspective. I wonder, though, to what degree his life influenced his

theories.