Four Factors that Contributed to the Emergence of Sociology as a Discipline

War and Political Revolutions 

Origin of sociology traces back to the late 18th century at a time when the world was faced with constant political unrests. Historians have associated emergence of sociology with the political, demographic, and economic changes that were brought about by the French Revolution that spread through the whole of Europe and neighboring countries. They argue that war and colonialism demolished the old social order of societies and people were forced to adapt to new sociological changes (Henslin, 2018). Due to interests of various people to find out how political revolutions affected people, social theorists studied societal changes by comparing the present events and past practices as a result giving rise to the discipline of sociology.

Industrialization 

According to a French philosopher, Comte, the industrial revolution was among the chief contributors of the emergence of sociology as a discipline. With industrialization, industries, and factories emerged that brought social changes to neighboring people and later to people from far away who moved in looking for employment. Some of the apparent social changes were urbanization that forced residents to adopt urban settlements. Due to movement of people from rural to urban areas, problems of overpopulation, poor health, the high cost of living, and poor sanitation developed (Henslin, 2018). Also, the capitalist economy that colonized the whole world due to industrial revolution attracted concerned sociologists such as Karl Marx to study the dynamics of the society and criticize the unfair capitalist economic system which contributed to rise of sociology as a discipline.

Human Factors and Liberalization 

Almost all sociology books mention man as the "Father of Sociology" because historians have stated that the eagerness of past philosophers to develop a discipline that focused on the dynamics of the society led to the development of sociology as a discipline (Henslin, 2018). During the early and mid-19th century, people who studied social sciences were honored in the society. Sociologists like Auguste Comte were motivated by the prestige that the community gave to social sciences because most people usually believed that scientists were problem-solvers in the world. On the contrary, people who criticized sociologists and their theories customarily used socialism theories to dispute previous methods also contributed to the rise of sociology as a discipline.

Religion 

Religion led to the rise of sociology due to the different religious beliefs that sociologists used to write their perspectives about society (Henslin, 2018). According to Ritzer and Hinkle, sociologists from different religious backgrounds came together and brought various objectives that widened the subject of sociology leading to the development of sociology as a discipline. Also, ancient churches had different interpretations of the social issues, and as a result, sociology was gradually developed into a broad subject.

The Three Main Theoretical Perspectives 

Apparently, as opposed to former sociologists, modern sociologists use three primary theoretical paradigms namely: the functionalist perspective, the symbolic interactionist perspective, and the conflict perspective, which form an orienting framework that guides them in making their philosophical position in matters of sociology.

The Symbolic Interactionist Perspective 

It guides sociologists in identifying symbols of everyday life and how people interact with each other by looking at the big picture of society. It explores the fact that people attach their subjective interpretation on symbols that they know in the community. It uses face-to-face interaction to handle small groups of people. Its level of analysis is micro level. It was invented by Max Weber who stated that individuals act according to how they interpret the meaning of their world (Henslin, 2018).

Additionally, George Mead elaborated Weber's works by arguing that symbols such as those used in the American institution of marriage may have different meanings that the society has attached to them while people maintain different perceptions. For example, a wedding ring can symbolize a vow of life-long commitment while to some people it might be a sign of wealth. Symbolic interaction, according to some critics, it may miss out on the big picture of an urgent matter, for example, society might focus on the size of the diamond wedding ring rather than the quality of the marriage.

The Functionalist Perspective 

It is based on the contribution of some theorists such as Hebert Spencer, Robert Merton, Talcott Parsons, and Emile Durkheim. It strives to strike a balance in the society by bringing together different interconnected parts that can function as a unit. Level of analysis is macro, for example, each social institution has a significant contribution to another and the society at large (Henslin, 2018). For instance, family depends upon schools funded by the government to help their children become useful people later in life and support their families. In return, the family pays taxes to help the government run these learning institutions.

Furthermore, the functionalist perspective explains how social elements impact the society through their functions. For example, a criminal causes a dysfunctional act to the organization that results in fear and loss of property. On the other hand, crime forces the society to be more aware and to work together in preparation for another criminal attack (Henslin, 2018). This perspective insists that the society should remain interconnected for the success of the whole community. For example, a child raised by a single-parent might miss enough guidance because the parent is busy, but the child might be a bad example to other children.

Conflict Perspective 

While the other perspectives focus on the positive aspects of the society, conflict perspective addresses negative and different components of the society working together. Its origin is traced to the works of Karl Marx, and its level of analysis is macro. The perspective argues that some social groups in a society have more power and enjoy this benefits at the expense of others (Henslin, 2018). For example, feminist theory acknowledges the fact that all men dominated sectors of the society should strike a balance in male and female roles.

Besides, conflict perspective explores how the growth of society through industrialization creates an economic imbalance among people. For example, there are those people who employ others and enjoy more benefits at the expense of the workers who they pay low wages. Another good example is Karl Marx's argument that the society focuses on spiritual factors rather than addressing familiar person's concerns such as the living conditions (Henslin, 2018). The theory calls for humanitarian efforts to fight for the rights of workers who can be mistreated at their working places.

References

Henslin, J. M. (2018). Essentials of Sociology: A down-to-Earth Approach . London, UK: Pearson Education Publishers.