Sociology

Inspiration provided by the radically diverse societies and cultures of the colonial empires

The colonial powers of Europe were exposed to different types of societies and cultures in the colonial empires. Their exposure to such diversities in societies and cultures provided an intellectual of these distant peoples raised fresh questions about society: Why some societies were more advance than others? What lessons could be the European countries learn from comparisons of various societies? Why the rate of social change was not the same everywhere? The new science of society called "Sociology" had emerged as an independent science in an attempt to find convincing answers to these questions.

Inspiration from the Growth of Natural Sciences

Nineteenth century was a period in which natural sciences had made much progress. The success attained by the natural scientists inspired and even tempted good number of social thinkers to emulate their example. If their methods could be successful in the physical world to understand physical or natural phenomena, could they not be applied successfully to the social world to understand social phenomena? As an answer to this question Comte, Spencer, Durkheim, Weber and others successfully demonstrated that these methods could be used to study the social world.

Industrial Revolution and Industrialisation

Industrial Revolution that took place first in England during 18th century brought about sweeping changes throughout Europe. Never before in history did social changes take place on such a massive scale. Sociology emerged in the context of the sweeping changes.

Factory system of production and the consequent mechanisation and industrialisation brought turmoils in society. New industries and technologies change the face of the social and physical environment. The simple rural life and small-scale home industries were replaced by complex urban life and mass production of goods. Industrialisation changed the direction of civilisation. It destroyed, or radically altered, the medieval customs, beliefs and ideals.

Industrialisation and led to urbanisation. Peasants left rural areas and flocked to the towns, where they worked as industrial labourers under dangerous conditions. Cities grew at an unprecedented rate providing an anonymous environment for people. Social problems became rampant in the fast developing cities. Aristocrats and monarchies crumbled and fell. Religion began to lose its force as a sours of moral authority. "For the first time in history, rapid social change became the normal rather than abnormal state of affairs, and people could no longer expect that their children would live much the same lives as they had done. The direction of social change was unclear, and the stability of the social order seemed threatened. An understanding of what was happening was urgently needed' [Robertson's' "Sociology" Page: 11]

Its clear from the above that sociology was born out of the attempt to understand the transformations of that seemed to threaten the stability of European society. Social thinkers like Comte, Spencer and others argued that there was an urgent need to establish a separate science of society. They believed that such a science would be of great help in understanding the nature and problems of society and find out solutions for the same.

Factors Contributing to the Emergence of Society

Sociology came to be established as an independent and a separate social science in the middle of the 19th century. Various factors paved the way for its emergence. Ian Robertson in his book "sociology" [pages: 11-12] has mentioned of three factors that hastened the process of the establishment of sociology as a separate science. They are,

1. Industrial Revolution and Industrialisation.
2. Inspiration from the Growth of Natural Sciences.
3. Inspiration provided by the radically diverse societies and cultures of the colonial empires.

These three factors are described separately from each other briefly in next three posts as those named here.

Characteristics of Early Sociology

The science of sociology was taking its shape to emerge as a distinct science in the second half of the 19th century and early part of the 20th century. According to T.B. Bottomore early sociology assumed the following characteristics:

1. Early sociology was encyclopedic in character. It was "concerned with the whole social life of man and with the whole of human history".
2. Early sociology, which was under the influence of philosophy of history and the biological theory of evolution, was largely evolutionary in nature.
3. It was generally regarded as a positive science similar in character to the natural sciences. "Sociology in the 19th century was modelled upon biology". This fact could be ascertained from the widely used conceptions of society as an organisation and from the attempts to formulate general laws of the present day.
4. Sociology was virtually recognised above all, "a science of the new industrial society". Even through sociology claimed itself to be a general science, it dealt particularly with social problems arising from the political and economic revolutions of the 18 century.
5. Sociology as "an ideological as well as scientific character". Various conservative and radical ideas entered into its formulation, gave rise to conflicting theories, and provoked controversies which continue to the present day.
   

Sociology before Auguste Comte?

Sociology has a long past but only a short history. Sociology which is known as the science of society, is one of the youngest as well as one of the oldest of social sciences. It is one of the youngest sciences because only recently jt came to be established as a distinctint branch of knowledge with its own distinct set of concepts and its own methods of inquiry.
Sociology is also one of the oldest of social sciences. Science the dawn of civilisation, society has been a subject for speculation and inquiry along with other phenomena which have agitated the restless and inquisitive mind of man. Even centuries ago men were thinking about society and how it should be organised, and held views on man and his destiny, the rise and fall of peoples and civilisations. Though they were thinking in sociological terms they were called philosophers, historians, thinkers, law-givers or seers. Thus, "Broadly it may be said that sociology has had a fourfold origin: in political philosophy, the philosophy, the philosophy of history, biological theories of evolutionism and the movements for social and political reforms...".
There was social thought during the ancient age: Though sociology came to be established as a separate discipline in the 19th century due to the efforts of the French Philosopher Auguste Comte, it is wrong to suppose that there exited no social thought before him. For thousands of years men have reflected upon societies in which they lived. In the writings of philosophers, thinkers and law-givers of various countries of various epochs we find ideas that are sociological. For instance , in the writings of Plato, Aristotle, Manu, Confucies , Cicero and others we find major attemps to deal methodically with the nature of society, law, religion, philosphy etc. Plato's Republic, Aristotle's Politics, Smriti of Manu, Confucius' Analects, Cicero's On Justice are some of the anciant sources of social thought.
During the middle ages and early modern times the teachings of the church dominated the human mind and hence most part of human thinking remained as metaphysical speculation far away from the scientific inquiry. Intellectuals became more active science the 16th century onwards. Their quest for an understanding human society, its nature, socio-political system and its problems now received new impetus. The literary works of some prominent intellectuals of this period clearly reveals this urge to understand and interest man's socio-political system.
Machiavelli's "The Prince", Thomas Hobbes "Leviathan", Rosseau's "Social Contract", Montesquieu's "The Spirit of Laws", Adam Smith's "Wealth of Nation's", Condorcet's "Historical Sketch of the Progress of the Human mind" serve as examples of such literary works. Thinkers like Sir Thomas More in his "Utopia", Thomasso Campenella in his "City of Sun", Sir Francis Bacon in his "New Atlantis", James Harrington in his "Common Wealth of Oceana", H.G. Wells in his "A Modern Utopia" - had made attempts to project a picture of an ideal society free from all shortcomings.
However, it was only in the 19th century that systemic attempts were made by Auguste Comte, Spencer, Durkheim, Weber and others to study society and to establish a science of society called "sociology".