The function of sociology as of every science is to reveal that which is hidden ,as

quoted by Pierre Bourdieu.

Madam chairperson , members of the opposition and ladies and gentlemen in the

audience , A pleasant morning to you all .

We the affirmative stand in the agreement that Sociology is a science .

As the first speaker I will indicate as to what a science is , its characteristics and the

method through which a science can be used to formulate empirical knowledge. In

that it will be seen how sociology can be categorized as a science , based on the

correlation between it’s characteristics to that of the physical or natural sciences.

The second speaker will demonstrate as to why Sociology was developed from the

19th century and how within the society past trends have influenced the occurrence of

contemporary events . The para dime shift that led to the origin and development will

be discussed , and Durkheim’s investigation (Le suicide will be referenced and

outlined ).

The third speaker will conclude the points made , in mentioning the characteristics of

Sociology that clarifies it as a science.

According to Youth Article Library, ‘science is the branch of knowledge or study

dealing with a body of facts or truths systematically arranged and showing the

operation of general laws, through which facts are linked to draw valid inferences.

Therefore the scientific method is adapted to which acquires scientific knowledge

through observation, experimentation, and generalization. Science is therefore

characterized by it’s : objectivity, need for observation , experimentation , accurate

measurements and prediction in order to make generalization towards the cause-

effect relationships of social phenomena. 

Alex thio (1994)  pivots the fact that sociology is the scientific study of  human

society and interactions.  In that, it is explicitly indicated that it is through the use of

systematic procedures that human behaviour is studied.

According to (Puja Mondal ,2017) , sociology prioritizes the use of the scientific

model, as deductions are made through objective reasoning , facilitated firstly by

scientific observation , wherefore a problem in society is observed and thus needs an

explanation , for example the social , political and economic changes brought forth by

the Industrial , French and Scientific revolution during the 19 th century rallied the

cause of sociologists , as there generated , social phenomena during that era , which

could not sufficiently be described by the Bible or any other religion, for example and

will be expressed further by the second speaker. Therefore logic is prioritized than

that of common sense knowledge or subjective reasoning.  Hence, sociologists predict

or foresee the outcome of a particular issue by investigating the recurrent trends of

human behaviour from past events . Thus an  hypothesis, which is a scientific guess

based on solid evidence,  is formed to give a rationale explanation. 

 Therefore an experimentation would be brought upon to test the hypothesis , in

context , Durkheim’s research paper on suicide, utilized questionnaires , surveys and

comparative studies to which led to the birth of the theory of structural

functionalism which supported his finding as he concluded that the more socially

integrated and connected a person is, the less likely he or she is to commit suicide , in

that , as social integration decreases, people are more likely to commit suicide. This

therefore influenced the theorization of structural functionalism to which looks at

how solidarity or integration within the members of society to retains equilibrium, and

further social order .

In concluding, it can therefore be seen that in physics and the other natural sciences,

there is a systematic basis on which the data is retrieved , and thus undergoes the

channel of the scientific method or model , as Le suicide was made a comparative

statistical study of suicide statistics from different societies, until it was concluded to

be due to social factors , as fore-mentioned, the lack of social integration , to which

was an issue external to the individual, thus it uncovers the laws that govern human

behaviour .

With all that was said , we therefore rest our case .