Sociologists do not simply declare their beliefs indisputable truths – they do research to determine whether those beliefs are correct. Their investigations are rooted in the scientific method that distinguishes the sociological perspective from “commonsense” interpretations of the world. The sociological perspective emphasizes that people’s thoughts and action are strongly influenced by the groups to which they belong as well as by impinging social factors such as beliefs, values, practices and institutions. From birth to death individuals are imbedded within and influenced by groups and larger structures. As sociologists our main goal is to understand social situations and look for repeating patterns in society.
According to Mills (1970) “we must think ourselves away from the familiar routines of our daily lives in order to look at them anew”- The sociological imagination is the ability to think of human society as well as personal experience. What C. Wright Mills called the ‘sociological imagination' is the recognition that what happens in an individual's life and may appear purely personal has social consequences that actually reflect much wider public issues. Human behaviour and biography shapes society, and vise-versa and one cannot be properly understood without the other. If a sociologist was trying to understand two friends having coffee for example then they would examine it as social interaction, as acceptable drug taking, and as part of a complex mix of social and economic processes. They might also assess the fact that coffee is produced by the poor but drunk mainly by the better off, they would examine the history of coffee drinking.
There is increasing interest in something called "phenomenological sociology." If this interest is to be sustained, indeed if this sub-discipline is to contribute to our knowledge of the social world, we must become clear on what phenomenological sociology is and can become. At present serious problems exist in the writings of many sociologists who have contributed to, and implicitly defined, this approach to sociology. In general, they display only a metaphorical understanding of phenomenology as a philosophy and as a set of methods. In addition, and partly as a result, they fail to understand the relationship between sociology and phenomenology.
Sociological Perspective The Sociological perspective is learning how to ‘see’ – seeing the strange in the familiar, identifying, respecting, learning from and questioning both our own and others’ values and belief systems. The sociological perspective deals with the growth of people and societies. Sociological thought concentrates on the assessment of how we as people are predisposed to the world around us. More or less, it seeks to offset the question of why we are the way we are. The sociological theory upholds that, people are not instinctively good or bad, happy or depressed, and intelligent or ignorant, but are rather shaped into their own individuality over time by the interactions, connections and relations that one endures along with the situations and circumstances which are undergone throughout a lifetime.
As a result, the development, nature and understanding of different social institutions, including the family, health-care systems, religion, education, media, politics and economy, are determined or affected by these three social theories. To understand the three theories and how they affect different social institutes, one must first understand what a sociological theory is. The definition put forth by Purdue states the following: “Sociological theory is a set of assumptions, assertions, and propositions, organized in the form of an explanation or interpretation, of the nature, form, or content of social action” (Purdue, p. 1). Each sociological theory mentioned above: functionalism, conflict, and interactionism, presents a different set of assumptions or perspective that define a particular
Sociology is a social science that seeks to understand complexities of human society. Sociological theories are ideas that seek to explain how society works. There is a wide range of sociological theories in terms of their priorities, perspectives and the data that exist or encompass the endless ways of viewing reality. In order to determine the nature of man, to be outside the knowledge of his experience, ambition, qualifications of values refer to the community in which he grew up and is shaped. The impact on the personality of the individual, it has the characteristics of participation in the life of the community.
Functioning is all a part of life but, can it work in a sociologist standpoint? According to the You May Ask Yourself by Dalton Conley its possible. Throughout Colney’s works in chapter one he explains three major theories. Including the Functionalist theory, conflict theory, and Symbolic Interaction. In the position as a student of sociology, I believe the Functionalist theory best describes society.
Sociologists carry out their research from a number of theoretical perspectives, and depending on the views they adopt they will have different ideas about the nature of social problems and know how to solve them. Early positivist and functionalist sociologists, such as Comte and Durkheim, would argue that sociology was a science and would discover both the cause of social problems and scientifically based solutions to them. Both positivist and functionalists see social policies beneficial to society as a whole, and contribute to it running smoothly. For example, educational policies help to promote equal opportunity and reduce class boundaries. However Marxists would argue that social problems such as underachievement are simply aspects of a wider structure of class inequality, and unlike functionalists, they do not see the state and its policies beneficial to all members of society.
The objective of this essay is to consider the relationship between sociology, science and common sense, before unpacking the phenomenon surrounding these three schools of thought. It will begin by defining the three concepts and use empirical as well as theoretical evidence to illuminate their relationship as argued by Parker (2003) and Wright-Mills (1970). Although this essay will be based mainly on the arguments of the two above mentioned sociologists, it will also look at a few arguments by other well-known sociologists. Sociology, science and common sense share the same focus of concern, pertaining to people’s life experiences and understanding of their surroundings. Giddens (2009 p.6) defined sociology as ‘‘the scientific study of human life, social groups, whole societies and the human world as such’’.
Critical Thinking: Symbolic-Interaction approach 1 Critical Thinking: Symbolic-Interaction Approach Sociology: option #1 Critical Thinking: Symbolic-Interaction approach 2 Abstract In the critical thinking assignment I picked option number one, which is to select one of the three major sociological approaches. The one I will be writing about is the Symbolic-Interaction Approach. I am required to give a description of the approach, point of the key points, list some of the benefits of the sociological perspective and give examples, then I am required to give my opinion and reasoning for why I think that way. Keywords: “Symbolic-Interaction Approach- framework for building theory that sees society as the product of the everyday interactions of individuals” macionis, J.J (2009). Society: the basics.