Famous Sociologists

Sociology first emerged in western Europe during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. In this
period, the political and economic systems of Europe were rapidly changing. Monarchy, the rule of
society by kings and queens, was disappearing, and new ways of thinking were emerging. Religion as
the system of authority and law was giving way to scientific authority. At the same time, capitalism
grew. Contact between different societies increased, and worldwide economic markets developed.
The traditional ways of the past were giving way to a new social order. The time was ripe for a new
understanding.
The Influence of the Enlightenment

The Enlightenment in eighteenth- and nineteenth century Europe had an enormous influence on the
development of modern sociology. Also known as the Age of Reason, the Enlightenment was
characterized by faith in the ability of human reason to solve society’s problems. Intellectuals believed
that there were natural laws and processes in society to be discovered and used for the general good.
Modern science was gradually supplanting traditional and religious explanations for natural
phenomena with theories confirmed by experiments.
 Auguste Comte
The earliest sociologists promoted a vision
of sociology grounded in careful
observation.
Auguste Comte (1798–1857), a French
philosopher who coined the term sociology,
believed that just as science had
discovered the laws of nature, sociology
could discover the laws of human social
behavior and thus help solve society’s
problems. This approach is
called positivism, a system of thought
still prominent today, in which scientific
observation and description is
considered the highest form of
k n o w l e d g e , a s o p p o s e d t o , s a y,
religious dogma or poetic inspiration.
The modern scientific method, which
guides sociological research, grew out of
positivism.
The law of 3 stages
It states that society as a whole, and each particular science,
develops through three mentally conceived stages: (1) the
theological stage, (2) the metaphysical stage, and (3) the positive
stage.
The Theological/ Fictitious Stage

• In this stage human beings rely on supernatural agencies to explain

what they can’t explain otherwise.
• The Theological, which is the original and spontaneous form of
thought, regards the facts of the universe as governed not by
invariable laws of sequence, but by single and direct volitions of
beings, real or imaginary, possessed of life and intelligence. In the
infantile state of reason and experience, individual objects are looked
upon as animated. The next step is the conception of invisible beings,
each of whom superintends and governs an entire class of objects or
events. The last merges this multitude of divinities in a single God,
who made the whole universe in the beginning, and guides and
carries on its phenomena by his continued action, or, as others think,
only modifies them from time to time by special interferences
This stage is also divided into three sub-stages as (a) Fetishism (b) Polytheism (c)
Monotheism..
(a) Fetishism -The primitive persons everywhere tend to think in supernatural terms. They believe that all
phenomena are “produced by the immediate action of supernatural beings.” They believe in all kinds of
fetishes in which spirits or supernatural beings live. Hence, “New ideas and structural arrangements are
added to, and build on, the old” as a form of religion started and it admitted of no priesthood, because its
gods are individuals, each residing in fixed objects. During this sub-stage, man accepts the existence of the
spirit or the soul. It did not admit priesthood
(b) Polytheism- When the mind of primitive man became better organized, fetishism became cumbersome.
Too many fetishes created confusion. Hence, they started believing in several gods. Thus arose polytheism.
They created the class of priests to get the goodwill and the blessings of these gods. The presence of too many
gods also created for them mental contradictions.
During this sub-stage, man begins to believe in magic and allied activities. He then transplants or imposes
special god in every object. Thus they believed in several gods and created the class of priests to get the
goodwill and the blessings of these gods
(c) Monotheism- Finally, they developed the idea of one god, or of monotheism. They started believing in
the superhuman power of only one god. Slowly feelings and imaginations started giving place to thinking and
rationality During this sub-stage of the theological stage man believes that there is only one center of power
which guides and controls all the activities of the world. Thus man believed in the superhuman power of only
one god
 The Metaphysical/Abstract Stage
• Comte said that this stage started around the middle Ages in Europe, or somewhere
around the 1300s. In the metaphysical stage of society, people viewed the world
and events as natural reflections of human tendencies. People in this stage still
believed in divine powers or gods, but they believed that these beings are more abstract
and less directly involved in what happens on a daily basis. Instead, problems in the world
are due to defects in humanity.

The metaphysical thinking is almost an extension of the theological thinking. Rationalism

started growing instead of imagination. Rationalism states that God does not stand directly
behind every phenomenon. Pure reasoning insists that God is an Abstract Being. Reasoning
helped man to find out some order in the natural world. This stage being an improvement
upon the earlier stage, it was believed that the abstract power or force guides and determines
the events in the world. Metaphysical thinking discards belief in concrete god . The
metaphysical stage is a transitional stage in which mysterious, abstract forces (e.g., nature)
replace supernatural forces as the powers that explain the workings of the world.
The Positive/Scientific Stage
The positivist stage is the last and highest stage in Comte’s work. In
this stage, people search for invariant laws that govern all of the
phenomena of the world. Comte’s final stage for society is called the.
positive stage Just like the name implies, here people view the world
and events as explained by scientific principles. In modern society,
most people agree that the planets are physical objects made up of gas
or rock. People believe that sickness is caused by germs and that
medicine is the appropriate cure. If an earthquake happens, most
people believe that’s because of movement in the tectonic plates, not
because a god is upset.
The positive stage represents the scientific way of thinking. As Comte
stated, “In the final, the positive stage, the mind has given over the
vain search after Absolute notions, the origin and destination of the
universe, and the causes phenomena, and applies itself to the study of
their laws – that is, their invariable relations of succession and
resemblance.”
 Karl Marx
German political economist Karl
Marx (1818–1883) is one of the most famous
figures in the founding of sociology. He is known
for his theory of historical materialism, which
focuses on the way social order, like class
structure and hierarchy, emerges out of the
economic system of a society. He theorized this
relationship as a dialectic between the base and
superstructure of society. Some of his notable
works, like "The Manifesto of the Communist
Party," were co-written with German philosopher
Friedrich Engels (1820–1895). Much of his
theory is contained in the series of volumes
titled Capital. Marx has been described as one of
the most influential figures in human history, and
in a 1999 BBC poll he was voted the "thinker of
the millennium" by people from around the
world.
concept of socialism
• As a university student, Karl Marx (1818-1883) joined a
movement known as the Young Hegelians, who strongly
criticized the political and cultural establishments of the
day. He became a journalist, and the radical nature of his
writings would eventually get him expelled by the
governments of Germany, France and Belgium. In 1848,
Marx and fellow German thinker Friedrich Engels published
“The Communist Manifesto,” which introduced their
concept of socialism as a natural result of the conflicts
inherent in the capitalist system. Marx later moved to
London, where he would live for the rest of his life. In
1867, he published the first volume of “Capital” (Das
Kapital), in which he laid out his vision of capitalism and its
inevitable tendencies toward self-destruction, and took
part in a growing international workers’ movement based
Marxism
is a social, political, and
economic theory
originated by Karl Marx
that f o c u s e s o n t h e
struggle between
capitalists and the
working class. Marx
wrote that the power
relationships between
capitalists and workers
were inherently
exploitative and would
inevitably create class
conflict.
Social inequalities
Social inequalities refer to a case when
individuals have different social class,
status and circle. There exist disparities in
distribution of economic assets and
income. These inequalities arise in
freedom of speech, rights of voting, rights
to own property and access to services
such as education, healthcare and similar
goods and services of social goal. Social
inequalities also arise in the degree of
family neighborhood life, satisfaction with
the work, and availability of credit. These
economic inequalities lead to divisions in
social aspects. Social inequalities are
present within and vary between races,
economic clusters and countries.
 Emile Durkheim
Émile Durkheim (1858–1917) was born in
Épinal, France, on April 15, 1858, to a
devout French Jewish family. His father,
grandfather, and great-grandfather had
all been rabbis, and it was assumed that
he would follow their lead when they
enrolled him in a rabbinical school.
However, at an early age, he decided not
to follow in his family's footsteps and
switched schools after realizing that he
preferred to study religion from an
agnostic standpoint as opposed to being
indoctrinated. In 1879, his good grades
got him into the École Normale
Supérieure (ENS), a well-regarded
graduate school in Paris.
In 1893, Durkheim published his first major work, "The Division of
Labor in Society," in which he introduced the concept of "anomie," or
the breakdown of the influence of social norms on individuals within
a society. In 1895, he published "The Rules of Sociological Method,"
his second major work, which was a manifesto stating what sociology
is and how it ought to be done. In 1897, he published his third major
work, "Suicide: A Study in Sociology," a case study exploring the
differing suicide rates among Protestants and Catholics and arguing
that stronger social control among Catholics results in lower
suicide rates. (Social control is described as a certain set of rules and standards in society that keep
individuals bound to conventional standards as well as to the use of formalized mechanisms. The disciplinary model was
the forerunner to the control model).
Ex. Shaming individuals who have engaged in crime by exposing them through public media such as
newspapers. Acknowledging accomplishments of individuals who have contributed to society or reached certain
milestones such as a specific level of education
In 1912, he
published his last
major work, "The
Elementary
Forms of The
Religious Life," a
book that
analyzes religion
as a social
phenomenon.
Max Weber
Maximilian Carl Emil Weber (1864-1920) was
born in Erfurt, Prussia. After completing high
school, Weber began studying law at the
University of Heidelberg at age 18. Weber then
completed one year of military service before
continuing his studies and practicing as a lawyer.
He eventually earned his doctoral degree in law
at the University of Berlin in 1889 and began
working as an economics professor.2

While Weber may be best known for his

numerous contributions to the field of Sociology,
he is also known for two key contributions to
Management theory:
1.The Theory of Bureaucracy
2.The Ideal Types of Political Leadership.
The Theory
of
Bureaucrac
y
proposes that all business
tasks must be divided
among the employees.
The basis for the division
of tasks should be
competencies and
functional specializations.
In this way, the workers will
be well aware of their role
and worth in the
organization and what is
expected of them.
The Ideal Types of Political
Leadership
Another notable contribution from Weber was his classification
system of authority, which included:

1.Traditional authority
2.Charismatic authority
3.Rational-legal authority
Traditional Authority
Weber states that traditional authority comes from historical customs.
Traditional authority requires a belief in the importance of traditions as
well as respect for those who exercise authority within those traditions.
If belief in a given tradition is high, people who are important to the
tradition would have a high degree of status and others would follow
their leadership out of respect for and loyalty to them and the tradition.
Thus, submission to traditional authority happens if commands:
1.Are valid within the tradition; or, if not specific to the tradition,
2.Are otherwise ethical (i.e. fair, useful, or of benefit to the majority).
Someone with traditional authority can maintain respect, compliance,
and their position as long as people believe in the tradition and their
commands fall within the aforementioned parameters.
. Charismatic Authority
Weber states that charismatic authority comes from
personal qualities. Charismatic authority requires a belief
that a leader has exceptional capabilities and/or
characteristics, whether or not they are objectively
verifiable (e.g. a religious prophet versus a
groundbreaking scientist). In the case of a leader with
verifiably exceptional capabilities and/or characteristics,
submission to charismatic authority happens out of a
believed duty to:
1.Recognize the leader’s personal qualities; and
2.Act in accordance with their discoveries or expertise.
• In order for someone with charismatic authority to
maintain respect, compliance, and their position, they
must continue to produce, most importantly to the
Rational-Legal Authority
Weber states that rational-legal authority comes from
established rules. Rational-legal authority requires a belief in
enacted rules and that the leader who is issuing commands is
doing so within their assigned scope of formal responsibility.
More specifically, submission to rational-legal authority
happens when:

1.Established rules are consistent and capable of being

applied to relevant cases;
2.The people involved broadly agree to obey the established
rules;
3.The people involved obey the established rules when and
where they apply;
4.The people involved are specifically obeying the rules rather
than the people who enforce the rules; and
5.Those who are in command are subject to the same rules.