Berger and Luckmann (1967:15-22) argue that social relativity is inherent in reality and knowledge, hence, its collection is defined by social contexts imperative for sociological analysis. They contend that analysis should be conscious of varieties of knowledge in human societies to maintain their position on the social construction of reality. For them, there is a relationship between human thoughts, history and social context. They draw on Mannheim’s work that society is imperative for the content of human ideas to argue that knowledge is always from a particular position. The influence of ideology can only be mitigated by the analysis of diverse socially
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.
With the comment, Althusser stress on the close relation of how interpellation functions in constructing subjectivity. In the following essay, different elements of the theory are exhibited and the aim of this essay is to compare the idea of interpellation and subjectivity by comparing few arguments taken from cultural theorists. Our sense of being is actually engaged with the concept of interpellation. This is due to the concept of interpellation, through the role of ideology, it does not only just giving identity to an individual, but also functions in ensuring social stability. For example, we interpellate an individual with police uniform as an individual who have power of law, therefore we feel obligated to follow what the officer said and indirectly feel like subjected to the law.
Utilizing theories of human behavior and social systems, social work intervenes at the points where people interact with their environments’ (Thompson, N. (2005) Understanding social work: Preparing for practice, 2nd edition, Hampshire). As well as shaping what social work is, this definition gives an insight into what it is that social workers actually do. According to Neil Thompson, social work is a ‘political entity’ and will always remain a contested subject (Thompson, N. (2000) Understanding social work: Preparing for practice, 2nd edition, Hampshire). He neither agrees nor disagrees with the IFSW/BASW definition of social work but merely states that social work has numerous definitions. In his opinion this is due to people having different interpretations of what exactly it is depending on the view they look at it from (e.g.
Motivation is a process that arises from research in physiological or psychological need that activates a behavior or a drive that is aimed at a goal (Byrnes 2009). The corresponding theories arise from research in psychology, identified as four theory areas: need, cognitive, reinforcement, and social learning (ibid.). Need theories states that people behave the way they do because of internal needs they are attempting to fulfill (ibid.). Cognitive theories argue that the ways people think are used to decide their behaviors. Reinforcement theories depend heavily on the effect of law, which argues that people
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.
Browne once said "sociological perspectives centre on how much freedom or control the individual had to influence society" He goes on to comment on the two main approaches "structuralism is concerned with the overall structure of society and the way social institutions act as a constraint, or limit and control individual behaviour". Structuralism offers a view of the individual being controlled by the society they live in, Marx and Durkheim are similar in that they can both be described as structuralists, however their individual ideas are somewhat different. Functionalism was developed by Emile Durkheim, he believed like Comte that sociology should be viewed as a precise science and that society should be studied objectively. Durkheim placed an enormous amount of emphasis on social facts which he saw as ways of acting, thinking or feeling that are external to individuals and have their own reality outside the lives and perceptions of individual people. This is known as the macro approach, which places a great emphasis on the structure of society and how an individual operates with that 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’’.
Two sociologists, who have contributed to the idea of functionalism, are Emile Durkheim and Talcott Parsons. Both men embraced the theory of functionalism and molded their ideas of social facts, collective conscience, dependents of society, value consensus, and functional pre-requisites into the minds of many young people. “The father of sociology “can be used when referring to Durkheim, a well known functionalist. Durkheim’s work revolved around the study of social facts. A term he coined to describe phenomena that have an existence in and of themselves, are not bound to the actions of individuals, but have a coercive influence upon them.
Although positivists prefer taking objective social facts into account, it is evident that they are subjective in the source of data they will use, or are bound to use. Interactionalists, on the other hand consider that the reality of social behaviour is to be found when individuals interact and create their own social experiences. They seek meaning, and probe into the beliefs of individuals acting together in groups. Interactionalists use qualitative data. This data deals with the quality of human experience.