The context in which people live influences people's lives. The sociological perspective on society examines how such contexts affect individuals' lives and how individuals are affected by their society. Several questions arise concerning the origin of sociology. Also, many people inquire about the reasons behind war, power, and social classes in society. There are four factors that led to emergence of sociology: social upheaval in Europe, political revolutions in the USA and France, the success of the natural sciences, and the development of imperialism.
Emergence of Sociology
The first factor that led to the emergence of sociology is the social upheaval in Europe. The social upheaval was a result of industrial revolution which changed the way humans lived (Henslin, 2014). When sociology was emerging, the industrial revolution had just begun, and several people moved to towns in search of work to feed themselves and their families. The change in environment broke the ties between the immigrants and their ancestral land, which provided ready answers to difficult life questions. Some of the cities' adverse conditions that the new individuals experienced included dangerous work, long working hours, and miserable pay. The harsh environment and broken ties with their land made a tradition to suffer a huge blow. These people had to think of their answers to their social life problems since tradition could no longer provide solutions to their difficult questions about life. Consequently, the search for new solution led to the second factor geared to the emergence of sociology as a discipline. The first concept in the functionalist perspective is collective conscience and value consensus. Functionalists believe that value consensus forms the primary integrating principle in society. They believe that without shared values and beliefs, achieving social order is impossible. When members of a society have shared values, they also have similar identity. Functionalists also believe that the same way individuals have four basic needs to exist in a society is the same needs they need to maintain social order. The last concept is functionalism and education. They believe that education transmits society’s norms and values.
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The second factor is the political revolutions in the USA and France. This revolution developed new challenges and ideas that made individuals to rethink their social life (Henslin, 2014). The American and French revolutions' success led to the development of new ideas about life that swept out the old ones. The new idea that people possess rights that can't be violated encouraged most traditional Western communities to pave the way for democratic governments.
Another factor that led to the creation of sociology is the development of imperialism. During the European colonization of other countries, the colonizers came into contact with different cultures, and they started to inquire about the reasons behind culture variation. It led to the development of many new ideas on the issue of culture and society. At this period, people began to try out scientific methods in physics and chemistry. The scientific method involves using objective, systematic observations to test for theories.
The success of the natural sciences is the last factor that led to the creation of sociology. With the growing number of questions about the social world, the success of natural science created a desire to apply scientific methods to find solutions to such problems. Auguste Comte is the first man to stress that people should apply the scientific method to the study of society. Therefore, he is referred to as the "Father of Sociology." Comte emphasized that the scientific method's application held the key to answering pressing questions about the social world. Comte is called the father of sociology since he was the first man to assign a name to the new science, which he called sociology- society's study.
Theoretical Perspective of Sociology
The functionalist perspective is the first theoretical perspective in sociology. This perspective views society as a system of several pieces that are interconnected and that collectively work to maintain social equilibrium for the members (Henslin, 2014). For instance, each individual institution in society plays a role in bringing balance and social peace for the whole. Education provides an elaborate way of how youths can use their skills, knowledge, and culture for a better future. Family offers a base for socializing and nurturing. Religion provides moral guidance to members of the society while government institutions provide means of governing them. Robert Merton was the major proponent of functionalism. In his view, society as a whole unit is made up of many segments with different functions that work together to build a whole. When analyzing each element that makes up a whole, we need to examine its operations and dysfunctions to determine their relationship with the larger unit. Emile Durkheim also viewed society as being made up of several parts, each with its function. According to him, a normal society is where all the individual parts fulfil their tasks, while an abnormal one is where the individual pieces do not meet their function.
The first concept in the functionalist perspective is collective conscience and value consensus. Functionalists believe that value consensus forms the primary integrating principle in society. They believe that without shared values and beliefs, achieving social order is impossible. When members of a society have shared values, they also have similar identity. Functionalists also believe that the same way individuals have four basic needs to exist in a society is the same needs they need to maintain social order. The last concept is functionalism and education. They believe that education transmits society’s norms and values.
The second sociological perspective is the conflict perspective. In contrast to the functionalist perspective that viewed society as separate parts that collectively work, the conflict perspective regards society as separate groups that compete for resources and power (Henslin, 2014). Karl Marx, the founder of conflict theory, observed that those workers who left their land and culture to work in the cities barely earned enough for their survival during the Industrial Revolution. Karl Marx concluded that class conflict held the key to human history. In every society, some distinct groups control production and use others to gain money and power. According to Marx's theory, society is divided into two groups; the haves and have-nots (Henslin, 2014). Also, he observed that those who own means of production in society use their power and influence society's institutions. For instance, Marx explains the inappropriate use of religious institutions in society. He claims that instead of religion to enlighten the society members on destructive exploitation by the owners of means of production, it focuses on the reward that awaits them in heaven for living a moral life.
Some of the concepts in the conflict theory include structural inequality, revolution, and competition. Conflict theorist believe that competition is a constant and it exists in nearly all human interaction. Competition is brought about by scarcity of resources. With the assumption of the theorists that conflict occur between social classes, one result of this conflict is a revolutionary event. Theorists also assume that social structures experience inequalities of power.
The final theoretical perspective is the symbolic interaction perspective. Our first two perspectives, functionalist and conflict, are concerned with the analysis of society as a whole. Symbolic interactionism analyses the social-psychological dynamics of individuals interacting in small groups (Henslin, 2014). According to this perspective, an individual's behavior is influenced by meaning and definition developed through symbolic interaction with other group members. This perspective was created by George Herbert Mead and Charles Horton Cooley. According to these theorists, people respond to their definitions of situations rather than the problems themselves. A situation that is defined as real translates to become real during their implementation in people’s lives. The symbolic interactionism perspective also states that social interaction shapes the human identity and sense of self. People get to know themselves by observing how other members of society view them. Cooley argues that by following how others view us, we see a reflection of ourselves.
Symbolic interactionism can be described in three main perspectives, meaning, language, and thinking. The concept of meaning is the centre of human behaviour. Also, language provides meaning to individuals by giving means to symbols. Lastly, thinking changes an individual’s interpretation as it pertains to symbols.
Conclusion
In conclusion, sociology became a discipline due to four factors: the social upheaval in Europe, the success of natural sciences, the development of imperialism, and the political revolutions in America and France. This paper has explained the three major perspectives of sociology: the functionalist, conflict, and symbolic interactionist perspectives.
References
Henslin, J. M., 2014, Essentials of Sociology: A Down-To-Earth Approach.
