Sociology IS NOT a science

• Soc IS NOT a science - Interpretivists


  Strongly oppose positivists and argue that the scientific approach is inadequate or unsuited for the study of humans.
• Soc IS NOT a science - subject matter


  SM of sociology is meaningful social action. Therefore to study it, we must successfully interpret the meanings and motives of actors involved.

  • Sociology is about UNOBSERVABLE INTERNAL MEANINGS not external causes.
  • Soc is not a science because human beings cannot be predictable in nature.
• Soc IS NOT a science


  key beliefs:

  • Natural science studies matter (no consciousness) where patterns and cause and effect determine behaviour.
  • Sociology studies people (have consciousness) where ideas determine their behaviour.
• Soc IS NOT a science - Mead


  People have FREE WILL, to exercise AUTONOMY and CHOICE:

  • Humans interpret stimuli and react to it based on meanings they gave it.
  • E.g. When people stop at a red light, it’s not cause and effect. It’s because they interpret the law that red lights mean stop, and choose to adhere to it. Not everyone stops, humans are unpredictable.
• Soc IS NOT a science - VERSTEHEN


  Sociologists must uncover meanings to understand society. To do this, we need to understand people’s viewpoints, verstehen (place ourselves in the role of the actor to grasp meanings).

  • This produces rich, valid data rather than detachment styles (positivists)
• Soc IS NOT a science - how to uncover meanings:


  Interpretivists are divided in how is best to uncover meanings:

  1. Interactionists: casual explanation.
  2. Phenomenologists and Ethnomethodologists: society is not a real thing, it’s a reality of shared meanings.
• Soc IS NOT a science - Douglas


  Douglas rejects the view that social facts determine behaviour.

  REJECTS DURKHEIM STUDY.

  The only thing we can study about suicide is how the living make sense of the death, as we can only study by uncovering meanings from those involved - N/A for suicide.
• Soc IS NOT a science - Postmodernism


  PM also argue against scientific sociology because society is not a meta narrative.

  There are many truths, but scientific approaches are dangerous as they claim a monopoly of truth.

  There is no paradigm to study society successfully.