Devyanshi Verma: Sociology I answer copy

→ For a quest to develop an independent discipline, August Comte described the need for positivist-inductivist methods and coined the term "sociology" as science of society.

→ Durkheim provided the subject matter for the study of society and called them social facts. For ex - Material social facts like law, technology and non-material social facts like culture, morality, collective consciousness, etc.

→ Durkheim also provided for scientific methods in his book Rules of sociological methods to liberate sociology from mysterious methodology. Positivistic bias is apparent in the use of terminologies like material density and moral density by Durkheim in his analysis of division of labour.

Durkheim's multivariate analysis of "suicide" is again an example to elevate the status of socio. through distinct methods.

Counter-enlightenment and quest for social order Irwin Zeitlin argues that the conservative reaction to enlightenment helped socio. to emerge as a separate subject. Catholics like Bonald and Maistre, were concerned with the disruptive effects of French Revolution, industrialisation, urbanisation and modernisation and wanted to revive social order in the society.

Ideas of conservative reaction that led to development of socio. → Society was given emphasis over individual and was considered to be "sui generis" having existence of its own. → Individuals were seen as products of socialization who were merely filling the gaps in the societal roles.

→ Change brought due to forces of modernisation was seen as disruptive and hence early sociologists were focused upon reformist measures.

For ex - Marx advocated for worker empowerment to enhance their collective bargaining power. Chicago school was setup in USA to deal with ill effects of urbanisation.

→ Changes in family structure, increasing rates of divorce, emergence of new social classes, decreasing importance of religion in the society and the establishment of democracy, were all concerning the sociologists and there was a quest to find solutions to such problems.

Initial endeavours that inspired socio. Enlightenment philosophers like Descartes, Hobbes and Locke propounded rational ideas emphasizing supremacy

of human reason. This substantiated the fact that since society is a creation of humans, and not god, humans have the potential to change it.

• Comte gave his three stages - theosophical, metaphysical and scientific, emphasizing socio. as queen of science which will govern the modern times.

• These ideas were later carried forward to USA, where they developed socio. with a social reformist orientation.