Running Head:
COMPARING SOCIOLOGY
1
Comparing Sociology
Lindsey Smith
COMPARING SOCIOLOGY
Comparing Sociology
Sociology is one of those subjects that varies widely, and many people have come up
with many different theories about.
Just like psychology, each theory often covers a different
area, and comes with different beliefs or even methods.
In this particular instance, scientific,
interpretive, and critical sociology.
These different areas are the work of three different
sociologists: Comte, Durkheim, and Marx.
Even though they vary widely, they all still cover
different areas of sociology very well.
Scientific sociology is just the beginning, and has actually made it possible for
interpretive and critical sociology to become a thing.
This instance, though, focuses on
sociology in the form of science.
Professionals actually gather data and information to come up
with conclusions.
The only difference is instead of studying the natural environment, they study
behavior.
Comte is an early sociologist who applied science to sociology.
As described in our
text book, he used positivist sociology.
It is defined as “the study of society based on systematic
observation of social behavior” (Macionis).
He really helped to lay the foundation for the
further study of sociology.
Another instance of sociology is interpretive.
It focuses on the study of how people
interpret their surroundings, what sort of meanings they develop from social interaction.
Free
will is a much more accepted concept, and really focuses on reality being the creation of people.
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- Summer '13
- Sociology, Sociology of Sexuality, Critical Sociology
