Exploring the Essence of Sociology: Understanding Society Through Its Interactions and Systems

Question: Sociology The term 'sociology ' was first used by French philo sop her Auguste Comte (1798-1857) in 1843. During a systematic restructuring of the methods and parameters of his subject, it became obvious to him that the name 'sociology' was more appropriate than 'socia l phy sics', which was the term used previously. Comte was the first person to recognise the need for a distinct science of human society. He contributed significantly to social reform by studying the social laws and dynamics that regulate and control relations and actions between people and social institutions, such as the family, the school , and economic and political systems in socie ty. Comte is thus regarded as the father of sociology (Mondal, 2015; Robinson, 1987: 7). The field was further developed and establi shed by Western intellectu als such as Karl .Marx (1818-1884) , Herbert Spencer (1820-1903), Emile Durkheim (1858-1917), George Herbert Mead (1863-1931), Max Weber (1864-1920), Talcott Parson s (1902-1970) and Alfred Schutz (1889-1973) . The word 'sociology ' is a combination of the Latin word socius, meaning 'companion ', and the Greek word logos, meaning 'the study of'. Thus, sociology is the study of companionship or socia l relations . In other words, it is the study of the origin , development, organisation and functioning of human social behaviours that are affected by social interaction s (Wailer, 2015; Gosling & Taylor, 2011: 16-17 ) . The concept of sociology can be defined as the study of human behaviours as they are affected by social interactions amongst groups, organisations, societies and the world . These socia l interactions may involve two people or thousands , suggesting that people, communities, society and the world interact for the benefit of all. In interactions, the parties involved form syste ms for social interactions . Researchers in the field have formulated specific guidelines to predict interactive behavioural patterns of people towards each other (Gosling & Taylor, 2011: 16-18) . Sociology also involves the study of social factors , which are said to be 'ideas , feelings and ways of behaving' (Durkheim, 1982: 51). These social factors, which persist over time, are imposed upon all people who are born into a society. Durkheim emphasises that sociology is a study of systems that should investigated as a wbok and cannot be comprehended by examining the individual parts in isolation. According to him, 'ideas , values and beliefs can be found throughout a society and often persist for long periods of time ' (Durkheim, 1982: 51). This suggests that an individual born into a society can die, but the system will continue operating . Question 1 1.1 read the text above and discuss what is meant by “sociology”. (take answers from the text)