The Breakdown Of Connections And The Birth Of Sociology

831 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: What is the role of religion in society

The eighteenth and nineteenth centuries in Europe were a time of colossal change, out of which the foundations of Sociological thought were born. This essay will explore the birth of Sociology as a way of understanding modern society. It will assess the importance of the decline of religion, the Industrial Revolution, the 'Breakdown of Connections' and the 'Web of Interconnections'. It will also provide a background to some influential Sociological thinkers, namely Marx and Weber, and go on to use Marx's Alienation theory to exemplify the birth of Sociology as a way of understanding Modern society. This essay relies heavily on Bruce Mazlish's book A New Science: The Breakdown of Connections and the Birth of Sociology in its discussion.
In …show more content…

Mazlish explores a number of potential answers to this question in his book A New Science: The Breakdown of Connections and the Birth of Sociology. One possible answer is that the same questions that Sociology deals with were previously addressed through other disciplines, such as religion, which this essay will continue to discuss. Another theory is that there was simply no need for it. Indeed, Mazlish argues, the notion of 'society' was in itself relatively new. Previous thinkers could not develop a study of something that had yet to be conceptualized. Alexis de Tocqueville puts this into words in his Democracy in America, claiming that "A new science of politics is needed for a new world". This science of politics later came to be defined as …show more content…

Following the Enlightenment, science replaced religion in providing answers to questions about life. Many of the issues nowadays focused on in the study of Sociology might therefore previously have been explained using religion. The status and role of individuals in society that are today commonly attributed to societal structures or individual achievements, might instead have been justified by the will of God, the most famous example perhaps being the belief in the 'Divine right of Kings'. As religion ceased to be able to provide acceptable answers to such questions, the need arose for a scientific discipline that could. The answer became what is today known as

Show More
Related

  • Target V Redferns Essay

    1916 Words  | 4 Pages

    In

    Read More

  • Comparing Berger And Mills's View Of Sociology

    654 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the works “Sociology as a Passion to Understand”, written by Berger, and “The Sociological Imagination”, written by Mills, sociology encourages us to examine how our personal lives connect with the larger world. While Berger and Mills both support that the sociologist must fully commit to their work, they have differing opinions concerning why the sociologist behaves the way that they do. The sociological perspective introduced by Berger is supported by Mills’ foundation of the sociological imagination. For sociology to satisfy both the ordinary citizen and the sociologist it requires not only an in-depth inquiry of society and social relations, but a broader view of how society and social relations influence and reflect individuals.

    Read More

  • Compare And Contrast Weber And Emheim Durkheim

    1215 Words  | 3 Pages

    Three thinkers form the foundations of modern-day sociological thinking. Émile Durkheim, Karl Marx, and Max Weber. Each developed different theoretical approaches to help us understand the way societies function, and how we are determined by society. This essay will focus on the contrasts and similarities of Durkheim and Weber’s thought of how we are determined by society. It will then go on to argue that Weber provides us with the best account of modern life.

    Read More

  • How Did The Enlightenment Influence Western Society

    833 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Enlightenment began or could be said to have been propelled by the scientific revolution of the earlier centuries, particularly the Newtonian universe, as modernizing science gradually undermined the ancient Western geocentric idea of the universe as well as accompanying set of presuppositions that had been constraining and influencing philosophical inquiry (Bristow; Lewis; Mattey). This has led to the promotion of philosophy that of natural science included, emerging from the shadows of theology to become an independent, powerful force that challenged the old and the status quo. This has led to the great progress at the intellectual and scientific levels, with the society so enthusiastic about said progress amidst expectations that philosophy in general would lead to huge improvement in human conditions (Bristow). During this time, philosophers in the narrow sense of the root world considered the Church as fomenting ignorance, superstition and subservience. They also believed in the inherent equality of human beings even as they held that the best form of gov...

    Read More

  • Religion In Sociology Essay

    1605 Words  | 4 Pages

    To get a sense of this imperative role that religion plays in defining sociological behavior; we need to take a look at the beginnings of modern academic sociology. We see that it began with analysis of religion, as seen in Emile

    Read More

  • Religion: The Father Of Religion, By Emile Durkheim

    1187 Words  | 3 Pages

    Emile Durkheim, regarded as the father of sociology, worked roughly during the same period of time as Tylor and Frazer. However, despite their timely similarities, Durkheim claims that humanity will not outgrow religion. Durkheim differs from Tylor and Frazer because he considers religion and science to have separate purposes for humanity. For this reason, he affirms that science will not be the force through which religion becomes outgrown. To explain, Durkheim suggests that unlike science, “[r]eligion’s true purpose is not intellectual, but social” (Pals: Nine Theories, 102). The social function of religion manifests itself as it “serves as the carrier of social sentiments providing symbols and rituals that enable people to express the deep

    Read More

  • Sociology And The Scientific Revolution

    711 Words  | 2 Pages

    In 1838, the term “Sociology,” which is the study of human interaction, was coined by Auguste Comte, and was inspired by the three revolutions. These revolutions include the Scientific Revolution, the Political Revolution, and the Industrial Revolution.

    Read More

  • The Three Major Theoretical Perspectives in Sociology

    1966 Words  | 4 Pages

    Auguste Comte (Newman 2010) pointed out the need to keep society unified as many traditions were diminishing. He created the term sociology. Auguste Comte suggests that sociology is the product of a three-stage development.

    Read More

  • The Sociological Theory Of Law: The Sociological School Of Jurisprudence

    1407 Words  | 3 Pages

    The term ‘sociology,’ which was invented by Comte (1798-1857), is the study of the behavioral pattern of people in relation to their environment or surroundings. Within the purview of sociology, law is regarded as a social phenomenon which reflects human needs and aspiration.

    Read More

  • Sex and Gender

    1769 Words  | 4 Pages

    Marsh, I and Keating, M., eds. (1996) Sociology: Making sense of society., ed [2006], England: Pearson Education.

    Read More

  • The Sociological Contribution of Karl Marx to an Understanding of Contemporary Society

    909 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Sociological Contribution of Karl Marx to an Understanding of Contemporary Society. This essay will discuss how the Karl Marx contributed his knowledge to the understanding of contemporary society. Karl Marx is often referred to. as the ‘intellectual father of modern day Marxist economics’.

    Read More

  • Sociological Imagination

    453 Words  | 1 Pages

    This written material tackles and reacts to the essay written by C. Wright Mills. In 1959, Mills stated that this sets as an inspiration for the study of newly found science called Sociology, which is the study of institutes and culture that is within the system of Sociology. He coined the term “Sociological Imagination”, which is to think out of ourselves, get out of our "comfort zone" and dig a deeper degree so we could be enlightened or search for a new thought to think about outside the box and dissect the bigger concept and thinking. As such, this skill requires open mindedness and the ability to grasp the issues and troubles that is correlated with each other. The study of sociology is not found within the leaves of the books that we read and hall of the library, the tabs and windows that are open on the Internet through the use of gadgets.

    Read More

  • The Influence Of Sociology

    759 Words  | 2 Pages

    “It can be said that the first wisdom of sociology is this- things are not what they seem” (Berger, 1963). The sociological perspective allows scientists to investigate the factors influencing social behavior that are not seen and not obvious. The sociological perspective allows examination of behavior as it is influenced by the groups in which people belong and by the influence of their society. Factors that influence social location, or the position of a person within society, have significant influence on behavior. Occupation, Education, race, and even age can have effects on how a person operates within society, how they behave and to which groups they belong (Henslin, p.2, 2015). Science often looks for cause and effect relationships

    Read More

  • Importance Of Studying Sociology

    825 Words  | 2 Pages

    To Quote Anthony Giddens: "Sociology is the study of human social life, groups and societies. It is a dazzling and compelling enterprise, having as its subject matter our own behaviour as social beings. The scope of sociology is extremely wide, ranging from the analysis of passing encounters between individuals in the street up to the investigation of world-wide social processes“(1989). Gidden’s statement describes sociology as a study that helps us understand our own behaviour as human beings in a social word. Sociologist study everything from the interaction between people in the street to the interaction between different countries. Sociologists aim to study how societies have changed over, how societies are structured and organized, the norms of society. It’s also important to understand that not all sociologists agree with each other, Sociologists often debate with one another to prove/disprove certain theories and concepts. By studying Sociology is it helps us analyze social conflicts on a micro and macro scope. Through a macro level, we can study large-scale social organization and large social categories it also examinees social processes and patterns society as a whole. We can analyze individuals much deeper on a micro level. This way we study a human by face-to face interactions. Its important as humans to understand the way our society came together and the reasons to how elements work and function together. Sociology gives us a deeper

    Read More

  • The Industrial Revolution And The Development Of Sociology

    1014 Words  | 3 Pages

    The early developments of sociology date back to the late eighteen hundreds and early nineteen hundreds. Sociology’s development was driven by a shift in three main factors; social, economics and politics. All the major philosophers in the early years of sociology thought about the great transformation from “simple, preliterate societies to massive, complex, industrial societies” (Asanet.org, 2014). This paper will discuss and evaluate how the Industrial revolution, French revolution and the dissolution of feudal social order to influenced the creation of sociology as an academic discipline.

    Read More

More about The Breakdown Of Connections And The Birth Of Sociology

Open Document